Comparison Kills

~Never compare your inside to someone else’s outside ~ (Author Unknown)

Jonathan McReynolds sings it so well, (Comparison Kills) as does Lauren Daigle. (You Say) Take a listen!

Comparison. So many of us ladies struggle with this, myself included…

If only I could have her flawless complexion. If only I could have her beauty. If only I could have her popularity and number of followers on social media.  If only I could have her job. If only I could be that size. If only I could be that “fit” mom who has it “all together.” If only I could have her money to build a 3,000 square foot house with a swimming pool. If…if…if…if…if… Does any of these examples sound familiar? We spend so much wasted time comparing ourselves to others, when, all God wants us to be is…us…nothing more, nothing less.

The Bible says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalms 134:14) God took so much time in detailing our lives…that there is no one person exactly like you or me. Each of us has specific and unique features, abilities and talents, that makes us special. We are unable to fulfill the entirety of who God wants us to be if we are constantly trying to be someone else. God has a divine plan for each of us, and we are limiting that plan when we always have our eyes on everyone else…fantasizing about what our lives would be like if this or that would happen, or if our physical appearance looked this way or that way.

Social media, movies, and billboards are absolutely smothering of what the world expects young women to be and to look like. Magazines with unrealistic, airbrushed images are everywhere in the checkout lines to also serve as constant reminders of what beautiful and successful is. It’s so easy for us to compare and to measure our lives according to whats on the latest news feed and magazine covers. Somehow, our “just gave birth to babies” body just doesn’t measure up. And, if we’re not careful, we will allow Satan to speak lies into our lives when we compare ourselves to others. You’re not as pretty as she is. You will never measure up. You’re worthless. You will never be the good mom that she is. You will never amount to anything. Comparison will steal our joy, and more importantly, it will steal our identity in Christ.

The Bible says that comparing ourselves to one another isn’t wise. (2 Corinthians 10:12) But, I know, it’s so easy to do, right? And sometimes, we compare ourselves to each other without even realizing it. However, I am determined that with God, we can conquer anything, even comparison. (Romans 8:37) Replace negative thoughts with God’s promises. God has a plan for each of us. Plans to prosper us. Plans to give us hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) Social media and the worlds statistics doesn’t define who we are, and it doesn’t define who we are in Christ. We are chosen of God. Be who He has called you to be! Let Christ define you, not an online social image.

I hope this devotion will encourage you! Be who God has called you to be. You are a role model to someone, whether it be your daughter, a friend, or someone you may not even know on social media…may we all be confident of our identity in Christ!

You are beautiful!

Xoxo,  ~Laura