Take this simple quiz. Answer the following questions with only a yes or no.

Do you compare your body with others around you?

Do you compare your job to the jobs of your friends or family?

Do you compare your clothing with what your friend/co-worker may be wearing?

Do you compare your spouse?

Do you compare your children?

Do you compare your state of happiness (or lack thereof)?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you suffer from an age-old sickness called envy. I’ve been hit with this bug too. More than I’m willing to admit. If you’re anything like me, comparing myself with someone else 9 times out of 10, leaves me feeling down, angry, jealous and.…the list goes on. I don’t remember a time when I’ve compared myself to someone else and felt on top of the world. You know why? Because the enemy uses comparison to kill us! Yes, kill us! Nothing saps our strength and dreams more than comparing ourselves with someone else. A well -known side affect of comparison is memory loss. We forget who God made us. We forget about our own uniqueness. We forget that we are talented in ways others are not. Comparison also causes blindness. Comparison causes us not to see the beauty that lies within us. It causes our sight to be jaded, which in turn causes self-judgment and being overly critical of our lives. Looking at ourselves in the mirror, we lack to the ability to see the masterpiece God made us, and only see the “flaws”. We can’t see clearly because we are allowing the haze of comparison to cloud our judgment.

Here are two fantastic verses from the bible that combat the lie of comparison:

“Let everyone be sure to do his very best, for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work done well and won’t need to compare himself with someone else.” (Galatians 6:4 LB)

“We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT).

Comparison will take you off course and lead you astray from God’s calling on your life.   Stand your ground and fight the disease of comparison.

There’s never been anyone like you. There is no one like you. There never will be anyone like you. In the wise words of Dr. Suess: “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.”

I want to give you a challenge:

Write a list of 10 things that you like about yourself. Anything from your hair, to your creative abilities to the way you laugh. Try to get at least 10 things. Keep going if you can. If you’re brave, leave your list in the comment sections so we can celebrate your uniqueness!

Live boldly and embrace yourself!                                                                                                               Be Brave, Have Courage

Mary