Friday, February 28, 2014

Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

Nothing good comes from comparing yourself to other people. If you think others are better than you, you'll have low self-esteem and inferiority. If you think you are better than others, you'll be prideful and dismissive. The practice is meaningless ... and wrong.
God created each of us with unique capabilities and individual circumstances. We are equal in His sight: He loves all of us, warts and all. When we try comparing ourselves we become judgmental. We are all familiar with John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." Now go on reading through verse 17, "For God did not sent the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." If anyone had the right to judge others, it would be Jesus. He never sinned: in thought or deed. Yet, He did not judge others. He asks the same of us in Luke 6:37, "Do not judge, and you will not be judged, and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned."
Some see God as an unpleasant Judge, angrily searching out our faults and failures. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our God is a full of lovingkindness and forgiveness. He died for us so that we might be clothed in His garments of salvation. Psalm 61:10 says, "...For He has clothes me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness." We cannot claim our own rightness with God ... He provides His righteousness as a covering for our sins.
So, stop comparing yourself (your abilities, your possessions, your family heritage, your prospects for the future) with others. Revel in your uniqueness. Claim your inheritance as a child of God.

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