“Another possible source of guidance for teenagers is television, but television’s message has always been that the need for truth, wisdom, and world peace pales by comparison with the need for a toothpaste that offers whiter teeth and fresher breath.”  Dave Barry

What standard do you use to measure yourself against?

Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.  (Gal. 6:4; NLT)

A couple of weeks ago, one of the nine irrefutable laws the I featured was the Law of Comparison (8/22 DG).  Basically, the law stated that “nothing can be considered big or small, fast or slow, unless it can be compared with something else.  This law shows that all things are relative.”

When you get right down to it, the “need” to compare is driven by the ego.  It can be a very destructive force.  it can also make for a very wild ride…up one minute and down the next.  One minute you can feel very good about yourself as you compare yourself to someone who apparently has less and the very next minute find yourself feeling very bad about yourself when you discover someone who apparently has more or better.  (There will always be some with more or better…or so it seems.)

We will never overcome this tendency to compare ourself with others until we are able to fully believe, at the heart level, that our worth is not based on how we compare to others in looks, material items, achievements, or social position.  When we compare what we have or who we are to someone else, we often find ourself becoming envious, ashamed, discouraged and desiring things that are not in our best interests to be or have.  That also totally ignores the pursuit of our own God-given life purpose or destiny.  The key to success in life is never to get in alignment with someone else’s assignment. 

Is comparison ever useful?  Absolutely!!!  Compare yourself to yourself.  Where are you now compared to a year ago?  Six months ago?  Are you going in a desirable direction?  Compare your current reality with your desired outcome.  Do you need a course correction?  Compare what you know now versus what you knew last week.  Have you learned anything?  Have you grown?  You may not always like the answer, but it’s always an answer that you have the power to control.  Comparison is not only good, but necessary to make sure you’re still on the right path. 

So bottom line, use comparison as a tool of empowerment rather than as a tool of disempowerment and destruction.  Today’s link is a delightful and poignant little story that really drives home the proper use of comparison.  Enjoy!

Prayer Power
Lord, forgive us for so readily engaging in the improper and destructive use of comparison.  Like so many other things, the ability to compare is a capacity you built into us to be used for our good, but we have turned it around for our destruction.  Teach us to use it properly.

 Link of the Day
Why Weren’t You Zusia?

Blessings on you as you start this week comparing yourself to yourself.