COMPARISON WILL KILL US
by Emily Randall | Oct 18, 2016
I truly believe that God puts us through hardships for three reasons. To strip us of our notion of identity, to see HIM in us more clearly and to help others get to the place where God intends them to be. There go, the topic: Comparison will kill us.
I’ve been seeing this concept come up a lot lately, so; I’m going to try and tackle it. It first started with my own issues. Insecurity filled my head; I felt that I wasn’t measuring up to a standard. I wasn’t fitting into the mold that society wanted and I wanted to break out of the box. I wanted to be me but I didn’t want people to not like me. I was wrestling with inner demons. I was trying to find the balance between pleasing people and pleasing myself. I began focusing on what I needed to do to “keep up” and less on what made me happy. I wasn’t fully happy or at peace, my relationship with Christ felt stagnant and I was annoyed at people, church, and myself. I was frustrated with the box that I had put myself into. I thought: being in Christ is supposed to be the most freeing feeling you will ever experience. I began questioning my intentions. At first my intentions were good, I was living to please Christ. Then he began unraveling…
Yes I was living for God but I was also very wrapped up. I became worried about what these “new” people around me viewed me as. Why didn’t they like me, or follow me back on Instagram. What do they know about my past? Why didn’t they invite me out? Was I not good enough? Why were they judging me? Aren’t Christians supposed to be loving and authentic? I was so frustrated. I wanted to please everyone and prove myself to these people WHO DIDN’T MATTER. I wanted to please these people who in all truthfulness DID NOT MATTER. Not that they aren’t good enough or anything, but why did I put so much pressure on myself to live up to a standard of people who are broken just like myself. Why did I care about people who didn’t care about me? And why did I allow the enemy to get into my brain and feed me these CRAZY thoughts.
That night I took out a white board marker and wrote this on my mirror:
DON’T WORRY ABOUT OTHERS OPINONS STAY FOCUSED ON YOUR LIFE IN CHRIST.
“It is dangerous to be concerned with what others think of you, but if you trust the lord you’re safe.” Proverbs 29:25.
And said my prayers, and went to bed…
The weeks that followed God allowed me to see some major sore spots in my life and it was going to take some time for him to get rid of them; for good. I knew it was going to be painful, but if I wanted it gone I was going to have to trust him and be patient. I took a step back, a huge step back and began to restructure. I prayed and prayed and tried to listen to him; luckily God revealed some major things. So here I am to share with you my realizations. About yourself, society and our God who loves US.
WHERE DO YOU STAND?
WE ALL DO IT. It might be subtle, but we all compare. If it’s our jobs, our friends, our clothes, our status, our cars, where we went to school, how long it took us to graduate… We all try to live up to a standard set by society that is COMPLETLEY FAKE. ITS MADE UP. To make ourselves feel better about our broken lives, to make us feel “whole”. We compare ourselves to others to seek worthiness in the things we idol. We measure our lives on how we stack up to the people around us. Comparison brings out the ugliness of our hearts and the darkest sins of pride and insecurity. We secretly hope someone will fail so we can feel better about ourselves. If any of this even remotely sits with you, let me tell you… I’ve been there BUT I’ve also been completely freed from it (for the most part; I am human).
How do I become completely free?
Ah here is the joy of seeking Christ, there’s ALWAYS good news and there’s ALWAYS a way.
After my “incident” I realized I would not be able to fulfill Gods plan for my life unless I was 100% my authentic self. That God created me to be ME, Emily Randall, to not only have a relationship with HIM but he created me in his perfect image. That every bit of my personality, passions, desires and dreams were set in place by God, and if I didn’t act on those or be bold and confident about whom I was then I would never fully fulfill his purpose for my life. I wouldn’t reach the nations; and I would get stuck in the bubble that society locks us into. And this applies to each one of us. So, what’s the trick? The trick is to follow Christ completely and totally and DO NOT LOOK BACK. DO NOT question where you have been or who you were before, and don’t let others opinions affect where you are going. Only God knows where you are going, you don’t even know where you are going! And he has you in the exact spot where you are supposed to be. So why be concerned about others judgments against you? LIVE FOR THE AUDIENCE OF ONE. Do not let the enemy whisper lies into your life and realize that God is so good, and he will transform your heart if you fully trust him. And remember that all things done through him will be used for good.
My final advice for you is to please be patient. It’s been 6 months since I’ve given my life to Christ and he has revealed SO much to me. He has given me endless blessing but I am still growing and changing, and I am aware of that. I am not perfect and I will have my days, but I am 10 times better than I was yesterday and I continue to seek him DAILY.
He’s made each one of us for a distinct reason. Something we could never understand, but he wants us to do beautiful work in his name. He wants YOU to accomplish something no one else could, he wants YOU to embrace the beauty that he created you into. So comparing your life with someone else’s would be completely senseless. It would push you back, and away from his purpose. We are all made to be something different, and do something different. Just because someone may look like they have “more” than you does not mean that you don’t have enough. If your relationship with Christ is solid, that will ALWAYS be enough. Don’t make people or things your idols. Focus on your life in Christ.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Mark 10:21
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” John 21:19
