Are you robbing yourself of joy?

I was at pine cove orientation this past week, and a couple people said something that caught my attention.

They said: Comparison is the thief of all joy.

I've recently been convicted of comparison.

I look at people at DBU and I compare how busy they are to me, and how their relationships are compared to my relationship.  I spend my time and effort saying well she did it that way, and I'm doing it this way.  Well, her life looks like this so maybe that is what my future could look like.

The reality is if you keep comparing yourself to others, your never going to be good enough.  For they will always be someone better than you at something, and if there isn't you'll find something else to compare.

See how this could rob you of your joy.

God made each and every one of us, exactly the way He wanted to.  So what!  I can't spell to save my life, and my vertical is less than desirable?  That's the way that God made me and designed me.

That being said, we should also not compare our friends to other people in our life.  For me, this is a helpful step in analyzing a person.  It helps me to break down a persons characteristics and compare and contrast them with others.  Yet, my poor boyfriend gets the bad end of the deal because I'll tell him He is like some character in a book or something.

Yes the character might be a great character in a book.  Yet, just like it makes us feel bad to be compared to others, it makes others feel bad when they are compared to others.

How would you feel if you boyfriend and girlfriend kept comparing you to their ex-girlfriend and ex-boyfriend all the time?  I'd feel pretty ugly.

So, then why do we compare others?

That being said comparison is a waste of time.  I should use that time to be the best Kenady I can be rather than trying to be the best someone else I can be.  I'm not saying that role models are bad, or trying to understand people are bad, yet no one is exactly alike and that is what makes us beautiful. So, let us rejoice in our differences and similarities.

So, today lets celebrate the way that God made us and the other people around us.  Lets celebrate our victories and work together to minimize our weaknesses.  Lets understand who we are, and not get defeated when comparing ourselves to others.

Contentment leads to joy.  So lets stop comparing and rejoice in who God made us to be
.