Comparing ourselves

For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. – 2 Corinthians 10.12

It is easy to get into the practice of comparing ourselves to others. How else are we going to know if we are being successful or not? I can well remember days when churches and their pastored competed to see who had the most baptisms or professions or people in Sunday School and the results were published in a newspaper like sports rankings.

Paul must have fought the same battle. It may have seemed that those who opposed them, and we know they were out there, were more popular or more successful than he was. He had to wonder why.

He soon came to realise that we achieve nothing by comparing ourselves with others. There is one example we must strive to emulate. The only standard we can compare ourselves to is Christ Himself.

That’s not as easy as it sounds. Comparing myself to Christ takes faith, comparing myself with other men only takes the flesh. It is easy to see their ‘success’ and wonder why my efforts seem so feeble.

When we compare ourselves to others one of two things is going to happen. Either we are not going measure up and we are going to be defeated or we are going to be content that we are not as bad as somebody else.

But we compare ourselves to Christ we have a perfect standard that we know we will never achieve but ought to strive for day after day after day.

It really is not about others and how they serve God – we need to examine ourselves and see how we match up to God’s standard for us. One day we all want to hear ‘well done thou good and faithful servant.’