“For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed. Deuteronomy 10:17 (NLT)

We’ve been doing it since pre-school. Maybe even earlier. It’s one of the most destructive games we’ve ever learned and, perhaps, holds us captive more than any other single activity in our lives. So what is this enemy of our hearts? It’s the Comparison Game.

Come on now, admit it. You play it. You may be playing it now.

As a blogger it’s looking at how many followers you have compared to me, or anyone else for that matter.

If you are in ministry it’s the size of your church, the number of mission’s trips you’ve taken or the number of converts you have tallied up in the flyleaf of your Bible.

If you are a public speaker you may measure it by the number of speaking engagements you’ve had this year, the size the honorarium you get or the largest crowds you’ve spoken to.

If you are a writer it’s the number of published works you have in your arsenal.

The Comparison Game (or whatever you call it) is deadly for our hearts on two fronts. On the one hand, if we are on the upper rungs of the ladder we can tend to look at ourselves more highly than we ought. We’ve never been divorced, we have no debt, we have good kids and are well respected by the community and we get thousands of ‘likes’ on the social media site we belong to. We can get feeling pretty good about ourselves, especially when we see our names in print.

On the other hand, the Comparison Game can make us see ourselves as less than what we are as well. If only I didn’t have debt. If only I had been able to make the marriage work. If only I had the education and opportunities he/she had. If only…if only…if only.

The cure for the Comparison Game is to look at ourselves and at others the way God does. The Apostle Paul was labeled by some as being an ‘also-ran’ in apostolic circles. After all, Peter, James, John and the other apostles had actually walked with Jesus. They saw his miracles and heard his teachings first hand. Paul, on the other hand had spent a good part of his life trying to stomp out this new ‘WAY’. But he walks into Jerusalem with his head held high. Why? Because he didn’t see others the way man saw others. He saw others as God saw others…as being people saved by grace.

How does God look at us? We ALL are made in his image. All of us. We may take pride in our accomplishments. He doesn’t. We may beat ourselves up for our failures. He doesn’t. Today, take some time to look at what God has accomplished for you rather than focusing on your accomplishments/failures. It’s a great way to keep from looking at yourself too highly, or too lowly. The Comparison Game cripples us no matter if we come out on top or on the bottom.

PRAYER: Father God, as the Psalmist says, I am in awe of how you think of me. Forgive me for comparing myself to others. Empower me by your Spirit to see me as you see me. Amen