Oh my goodness I say as I walk into a friends house. “Look at her super clean house? Why isn’t my house always this clean? No one will want to come to my house cause its not as cute!”
I’ve always struggled with comparisons. We might have a sister we've adored and wanted to be just like her. We might have had a friend with cute freckles on her nose and we wanted freckles too. We played tournament tennis and we wanted to perfect the backhand and make it look like my Wimbledon idol.
It’s so easy to look around at the friends we have and find an inordinate desire to walk like them, talk like them, witness like them, pray like them, and know the scriptures like them. But be careful! It's a trap! A comparison trap- and unfortunately I have found myself all to often caught securely in it. Have you?
For me, half of the problem was my own insecurity. Another piece of my problem was a sincere desire to be the very best for God, and when I saw someone doing that, I tried to copy her. Comparisons usually lead to copying and that is not all bad if you copy the principles and not the particulars.
You can’t copy spiritual gifts, however, even if you have gifts in the same area. God has made us uniquely and intends for each of us to be ourselves. Escaping the comparison trap is a question of being sure of your own identity.
The most freeing thought for me has been, “If I were them, who’d be me?” Why would God make me one of a kind if He wanted me to try being a clone? No matter what, just smile and insist on being you!
*modified from http://justbetweenus.org
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