31 January 2019

Comparison


Working through Week One of Beautifully Broken we are still talking Job on Insta and Facebook. Here's what I wrote:

"Comparison is the thief of joy." Think that's from the bible?  I sure did. 😂 It's quoted so often I thought for sure it was in Proverbs. It's actually a quote from  President Roosevelt.
Job compares. He's lived a right good life. And for what? Except for the wife, everything is gone. Evil people have it better than he does.
Is comparison ever a good thing? Comparing robs you of joy, right? In worldly terms, sure. Stop measuring yourself to others. Avoid the discrepancies. Don't pick apart differences. Stop assuming.
But God designed us with the ability to evaluate & correlate for a reason. It's how we learn what is good & bad. Holy versus unholy. Justice versus injustice.
Have you ever compared your child's needs to anothers? It's pretty hard not to. You can set goals, see room for progress, & see potential outcomes. It can be a perfectly positive thing! But when we compare, thanking God that our child isn't as bad off as someone else's, we diminish our own child's spirit & the unique person God created them to be. Then we are improperly comparing.
I'm guilty of that. When Liam was little I met so many children with so many challenges & I'd thank God Liam didn't have those. But then as Liam got older, the day came when I felt I was the litmus test for others, who would look at us & be thankful their kids & life weren't as bad off as ours. We get stares everywhere we go. I could just see what people where thinking & I have even had some rude comments. But then I was reminded, ever so gently by our good Father, that Liam is exactly who he is supposed to be & comparing him or our life to others is completely, utterly, selfish. Liam has been wonderfully made. He is unique. Created in God's own image. People's stares & comments are not a reflection of Liam. They are a reflection of their own false comparisons.