We all play it from time to time.
We don’t mean to.
We definitely don’t want to admit it.
BUT…
We glance over at the guy at Starbucks that looks cool and smart and think, If only I had a computer like that, I’ll work harder, and then I’ll be more successful.
We see a mom at Target with out of control kids and we glance at our well-behaved angels and think, I’m doing a pretty good job (for about 5 minutes until all of a sudden we find ourselves in the reverse).
We see a high profile leader with an army of followers and wonder if there is any hope for us.
From appearances to abilities, we compare, we judge and we scrutinize how good we are by how good bad other people are.
The strange thing is it often starts out with good intentions.
We want to grow and develop ourselves so we seek out others who are doing what we want to do and try and learn from them. We have a goal and we start looking to others at how to reach it, but somewhere along the way we get lost in the process and we measure our success by the way they reached theirs.
And that’s where the problem begins.
I have dreams and desires, but I get tripped up when I base what I can or can’t do on whether another woman in my exact same position does it too (and if she does it successfully or not).
God has reminded me lately that what he wants me to do is unique to me. While learning from others is valuable, I have to be confident in the unique calling he has for my life, and keep that at the forefront. Looking at Scripture, has God ever done the same thing twice? Even if the outcome is the same, usually the path to getting there looks quite different. Why would he ask me to do something someone else can do?
Galatians 6:4 (MSG) “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others.”
I love this verse in Galatians. It pushes you to focus on your calling, but reminds you not to get prideful in the process and/or riddled with doubt.
How about you? Are you focused more on what God has called you to do or on he has called someone else to do?