I want to urge you to get over the tendency to compare yourself with others! We need to stop this comparison habit.

 

God has created each of us with unique personalities, gifts and abilities. No two of us is alike, and God never compares us, one against the other. We learn this principle in the parable of the talents, as found in Matthew 25. In this story Jesus makes it clear that the three men were given three different resources—one received five talents, one two talents, and another received only one talent. And when the master evaluated what they did with their resources, the first two received the same reward, even though one ended up with ten talents and one with only four. But they both were very good stewards of what had been given to them.

 

The one man with only one talent did nothing with his, and the master strongly rebuked him for this. I’m sure this guy looked at the other two and figured he couldn’t do much with only one talent; if he had two or five, it would be different, but with just one to work with, he simply gave up. And his condemnation from the master, as Jesus tells the story, was very strong.

 

The message Jesus was sending is that he never compares us with other people; rather he looks at where we started and where we ended—what we did with what we were given. And if you and I are good stewards of what we have, we will receive his commendation.

 

Yet, we are so prone to compare ourselves to others, and that leads us either to be proud that we have more or can do more than others, or more often, it leads us to feel sorry for ourselves, get down on ourselves, or just shift the blame and give up!

 

I want to strongly encourage you to get over it! Stop comparing yourselves to others. Instead, appreciate how God has created you, make sure you multiply the gifts he has given you, do the very best you can with what you have, and know that God will never compare you with other people. That’s a human tendency, but it isn’t the way God works!