The Sin of Comparison, part two

In an earlier blog I looked at a parable that Jesus told about a Pharisee and a tax-collector.  In the parable the Pharisee was guilty of the sin of self-righteousness because he felt he was better than the tax collector.  In this blog, I want to look at the other side of this comparison coin:  the sin of self-condemnation.

Whenever we compare ourselves to someone, we either think we are better (self-righteousness) or we think we are worse (self-condemnation).  The problem is that we should not be comparing ourselves to anyone else.  We are uniquely created.  We are an original.  There is no one else in the entire world like you.  Yes, there are people with similar personalities, likes and talents.  But no one thinks or feels the way you do, because they are not you.  Basically, when we compare ourselves to others we are basing that comparison on our intelligence, money, status, talents, looks or achievements.  The problem with that is all of those things are silly things to compare ourselves with.  We, as a flawed, imperfect human being are comparing ourselves to other flawed, imperfect human beings.  It’s like a parent who constantly compares one child to the other.  The results are always devastating.

When you feel like you are less than someone else, then you are committing self-condemnation.  Condemnation is from the devil.  He is known in the Bible as the accuser of the brethren.  He consistently gets us to doubt ourselves and doubt God.  When we compare ourselves to others and feel that we come up short, then we are condemning ourselves as not being good enough.  But again, you must look at what you are comparing yourself to….another flawed, imperfect human being.

We must learn to look at ourselves as God sees us.  In Christ, we are righteous and blameless. We are holy.  As a Christ-follower, we are compared to Christ.  Guess what?  We always measure up because of His work on the cross for us and in us.  I know that many people struggle with this because they are so aware of all of their flaws.  Christ has taken care of our flaws in Himself.  Therefore, we don’t have to compare ourselves to others; we compare ourselves to Him.

Let me give a personal example.  Many pastors, myself included, compare ourselves with others pastors based upon how many people we have in our congregation.  If a pastor has more than us then we don’t feel as good about ourselves.  If we have more than another pastor then we feel better.  This is terrible but it goes on all the time.  It comes out of a sense of insecurities and a lack of understanding of our completeness in Christ. 

Another area of comparison that many Christians fall into is the area of “spiritual maturity.”  Christians often time look at each other and compare their spirituality based upon their “works” such as Bible reading, prayer lives, giving, etc.  Many people don’t feel as spiritual as someone else who may read their Bibles more, pray more or even be a better public speaker than they are.  However, these are faulty measures.  We don’t earn God’s grace by being as good as or even better than someone else.  We get God’s grace through simply faith.  Nothing more, nothing less.

We must learn to stop condemning ourselves because we don’t “measure up” to someone else.  Celebrate the fact that you are unique and that you are an original.  Don’t fall into the sin of comparison by self-condemning yourself.

So, what do you think?