Comparison Kills. Comparison Steals
Comparison steals. Thinking that your success will be fulfilled by what you think you lack based on what another person does have. It reminds me of that TikTok sound of that man who said, “I figured out why I am not successful and it’s because I don’t have an iPad”. And don’t get me wrong, as I just said this to myself as I was typing it, I’m like how dumb is that, you're placing your success on a device? But then I quickly realized that this is me, this is my generation, this is modern-day society. We have such a limiting definition and belief on what success is and an even greater limitation on how to be successful. Many times when you go on social media what is considered to be the most popular are all similar, or in the same categories. We have lost the ability of creativity. We have allowed the enemy to kill and steal the gift of creativity that God, our creator, has placed in us and accepted the lie that if we are not creative like the popular one, then we are not creative period. Creativity is not limited to content creation. Creativity is not defined by popularity.
I had a conversation with a family member earlier today and we were discussing comparison. Although it was not intentional, that's the topic that we landed upon. We may think that just because we are not delivering a message, painting, a picture, or making videos like others, what we are doing is not contributing anything purposeful. From our perspective, their version of it does not just seem better, but it makes ours unnecessary or useless. However, that is 100% wrong. Something the Lord told me is that one individual has a different delivery of their gifts that is different from another person’s delivery of their gifts and that is God’s intentional doing. He created all of us differently to cater to a specific area in the lives of the people we are to serve. In other words, although we may have the same gifts if fulfilled differently, we all bring different things to the table but it’s all a part of the same feast. So let me give this example. There are two poets; Sally and Maria who both dealt with abandonment by their fathers. When Salley shares her story through poems about this she expresses it through thought-provoking metaphors, ministering to the pain of people’s hearts letting them know that they can not carry the burden of unforgiveness and resentment any longer because their fathers did not know their own identity which led them to not be present in the development of their children’s identity. Maria does the same, yet she is straight to the point, not reducing the power of her message but really helping people come into the reality of what has happened, what was done, and what needs to be done because the love of God is available - for us to forgive. Both were able to minister to people and both were able to set people into a path to freedom. Why? Because although both have the same gift God gave them different personalities, different perspectives, and different delivery methods to tear down the same problem and yet to serve those who can or cannot relate. However, many times as people would we stop ourselves from proceeding because we don’t think its worthy enough of producing, just allowing comparison to kill what carried such a high value.
Salley's Poem:
My father was a king yet he did not know it
I didn’t know it either until I became God’s poet.
He was one of royalty
Yet he could not maintain loyalty
To the ones who carried his last name
For his ignorance of who God created him to be, brought shame
Shame on him and shame on me, for the bad fig tree grew and sprouted from his seed.
A reality he could not bare to face
A reality that his mind opposed and sent him on a mental race.
Yet a reality that created a path to put him on a high speed chase.
My father was a king yet he did not know it,
He carried himself as a peasant and always showed it.
He lived for nobody but himself, he could care less about leaving an inheritance of fatherly relationship let alone kingdom wealth
Maria's poem:
I wish I knew my dad,
I wish my dad knew himself
That he was meant to be great
A great father, a great son, a great friend, a great worker, just great.
That the creation of his being was just on time, not too early nor too late.
I wish he knew the savior to heal his pain that could not be undone
So that he could be the example of what it looks like when victory is won.
But I thank God, because what was not done then, he’s done now.
I know my father,
And my father knows himself
And now I know him,
Psalm 68 verse 5 calls him a father to the fatherless
(Lol I lowkey went into a whole tangent trying to make my point but Praise God for the Holy Spirit. Also, just a disclaimer this is just an example. But I do pray for those who have experienced this that God shows you his fatherly love and for those that even have wounds from an unhealthy relationship with a mother, or the death of a parent, that the Love of God nurtures you in Jesus’ Name. )
Now back to our regular programming. Let’s take a look at what scripture tells us.
1 Corinthians 12:12 - 27 NLT (I also recommend reading this in the MSG translation, it is so powerful!)
The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles,[a] some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.[b]
14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” 22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. 23 And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, 24 while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. 25 This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. 27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
The point is we all need each other somehow, we all contribute to the bigger picture.
Comparison or comparing is the act of evaluating two or more things by determining the relevant, comparable characteristics of each thing, and then determining which characteristics of each are similar to the other, which are different, and to what degree.
Our creativity is more supported by our discipline and originality than it is by motivation and inspiration.
But in this day and age it has become the complete opposite. Hence why, many are doing the same thing because we have confused purpose with popularity and checks. It’s not bad to still want a career that requires a degree, it’s not bad to still work a 9-5 Job. There’s been a shift of laziness that masquerades itself to “ That’s just not for me” don't get me wrong I don't believe that everyone’s purpose is meant to be fulfilled by degrees, however, I don't believe everyone is meant to be an entrepreneur in an area that is self-centered based on their lives, instead of making a lasting impact on the lives of others on the earth. The entrepreneur equation is that it’s more about the consumer than it is about the producer. In other words, when it comes to us being vessels of Christ Jesus, it is more about advancing the kingdom to serve others and glorify God. Our creativity will align with our purpose. Not knowing your purpose can be stressful because many people don’t know their identity, so they go through many different stages to find it, which is not always a bad thing unless you don’t have the Holy Spirit to guide you.
Many times our success is driven from envy, jealousy, and comparison because of who or what we seen that we want but don't have.
Ecclesiastes 4:4
4 “Then I observed that most people are motivated to succeed because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.”
So instead of wanting to produce and work on your vision for the goal God has for it, you begin working on it because you want to be and live like someone else, which can contaminate the purity and influence of a good thing.
How do we get out of comparison?
Knowing who God is on an intimate level.
Knowing who we are to Him.
Come into agreement that we are truly fearfully and wonderfully made and that does not decrease nor increase based on what we do have or do not have, and is not determined by external circumstances but only by God himself and what he says about us.
We have to believe that the word of God is true, and live by it’s reality instead of what society and contradicting beliefs says.
Take accountability and work against it:
Dealing with Jealousy?, 1 Corinthians 12: 4
Feeling inadequate 1 Corinthians 12: 7
Thinking that others are better than you. This leaves you in a trap of self-pity, self-rejection, and condemnation, Which are all things that are a lie for a child of God, (Romans 8:1, Romans
Thinking that you are better than others, still stems from insecurity. There's a difference in you mastering something better than others, which means you are meant to help them and thinking that you are better than others which you are not. If you feel the need to compare yourself to others to feel valuable, then the truth is you have a void of insecurity that you are constantly trying to fill. My hope and prayer for you is that you know that you are fearfully and wonderfully made and fortunately it is by something that is consistent and is not based on any of your accomplishments but by what God said about you.
I have been privileged to write about this topic, not because I think I am holier than thou to write about it, but because I am going through it. This is revelation I have gotten from the Holy Spirit as I have been in the process of complete deliverance from the spirit, mindset, and heart posture of comparison. My hope and prayer is to help the person on the other side of the screen be set free and/ or come into realization that they do deal with this and need to work their way to freedom. God is faithful, has always been faithful, and will always be faithful. So in this, we can trust and have hope that he will set us free from this and into truth.
May I leave you with one more thing:
Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
God bless and go with the peace of the Lord.
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