Despite our best efforts, our circumstances are not always good or as we would like them to be. To compare ourselves to others, however, can make matters worse. To compare means: to look at two or more things closely in order to see what is similar or different about them or to decide which one is better: to be as good or as bad as something else.

Theodore Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” In comparing ourselves to others, we will usually come up short because we tend to be harder on ourselves than what’s fair. Likewise, one of the fastest ways of becoming discouraged and getting caught up in the sin of envy is by comparing yourself to others. To do this, however, you are only shortchanging yourself.

We might think the grass is greener on the other side by saying and believing that something is wrong with our lives or that we want to be somebody else or have someone else’s life. But the deception, in comparing ourselves to others, is that we really don’t know what somebody else’s life is like — their fears, their insecurities or what they deal with on a daily basis.

Dr. Harold G. Coffin, Creationist, said, “Envy is the art of counting the other fellow’s blessings instead of your own.” Therefore, count your own blessings — not the blessings of others. To compare everything you know about yourself to what you think or perceive about someone else will only result in discouragement. Oscar Wilde said, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” With that said, purpose to be yourself. Tend to your own life and be grateful for what you have, and you will be more satisfied.

Just a Thought,

PSS