The Comparison Game

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly discontent can insidiously creep into your life. One day, you may feel fine, and out of nowhere something triggers it. Perhaps it’s been there under the surface for a while, percolating, and then it boils over -- a vivid reminder that, in comparison to someone else’s life, you’re hopelessly stuck or underperforming.

I recently found myself in a situation where I was with friends who had moved forward in a certain area of their lives…and I was still stuck in the same old place with no visible progress. I might not have been so aware of my lack of progress if I hadn’t met with these friends, yet I went home moping and feeling sorry for myself. After a healthy dose of self pity, I pulled myself out of the funk by reminding myself that God has a different plan for me. If I try to measure my life according to the standards of everyone else’s life, I am going to constantly feel discontent.

Whether it’s about marriage, kids, job, calling, or fill-in-the-blank, someone is always going to seem to have it better than you and me. Their timeline might look way more appealing than ours. Their situation may seem easier. You think, God, why are they getting all of the blessing here? Pretty soon, we’ve got a full-blown jealousy situation on our hands.

When we get sucked into the comparison game, we forfeit the wonderful peace that comes from that overwhelming feeling that we are smack-dab in the middle of God’s will. Instead of feeling comfortable in our own circumstances and rejoicing in the season in which God has us, we focus on everything we don’t have. And the list can grow long. Too long, in fact, to see the blessings right in front of us.

I wish I could see my life through God’s eyes, and I understand why He does what He does. Why does He give some people who we would consider undeserving the things we want, and withhold them from us? What unseen factors are going on here that I’m not aware of?

That same weekend I hung out with these friends, one of my close friends got engaged. Talk about adding fuel to the fire! I was happy for her, but this was the last straw. I cried on the phone with my mom for an hour, and she reminded me that God has done some wonderful things in my life, and that He's preparing me for other things as we speak. It's as if a spirit of thankfulness returned to me as I reflected upon God's faithfulness. Now, when I'm feeling frustrated, I'm going remind myself to read my journals to remember all that He's done for me.