The Comparison Game

If you're a woman, you might own this game too. You know the one...it comes in different boxes, and you can actually get customized pieces for it. It's not really fun to play but it is usually the game we pull off the shelf whenever we get together with friends or even people we don't know that well. When we're done playing, we often end up feeling lousy or way too good about ourselves.

You know the game?

I wish I didn't know it as well as I do. I'm so pathetic that I can actually start to feel better about myself because "at least I don't compare myself with others in THAT area of my life!"...Bek, sorry to tell ya, that was another comparison.

In all honesty, I think blogging has done us no favors in this game of comparison. It's too easy to look at some one's blog and see pictures of what looks like idyllic lives, children who only say cute things, parents who always look beautiful, meals that are always delicious, homes that are immaculate and beautiful, stories of our latest triumphs, etc. We start to feel like losers, wish we were better parents, wish our houses were more up to date, that we could go on that vacation...etc.

And if you own a blog you can compare how many comments people leave on your blog vs. someone else's blog, the number of hits a blog gets, the number of followers, etc. We start to think that these things actually give us some kind of significance and are an indicator or the friendships we have in this life.

It's ugly. And I think Satan is getting such a kick out of it. He sees something that has the potential to be so good and delights when he is able to twist it into something very ugly and destructive.

I do think we need to be very careful what we post here...I don't think we need to put pictures of our children in their worst moments or tell stories about them that they will read someday and wish the whole world didn't have access to. I don't think we need to air our dirty laundry for the world to see. We need to be protectors of our homes and families and not allow the things that should be private become public knowledge.

But I think it's important for us to remember as we read each other's blogs that there are lives behind these pictures and stories. There are moments that we are ashamed of...too many moments when we have failed as wives, mothers, sisters, friends. Our houses are messy lots of times...there are times we throw all our dirty laundry in the cleaning closet before someone comes by. I know sometimes, my blog can make our family look like we have it all together...that we constantly do fun things with our kids, our house is always getting updated, that we are always understanding and patient parents. I wish those things were true but they aren't.

Most of all, let's remember what the Bible says to us, "Not that we (have the audacity to) venture to class or (even to) compare ourselves with some who exalt and furnish testimonials for themselves! However, when they measure themselves with themselves and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding and behave unwisely." (The Amplified Bible)

May I learn to always compare myself only to Christ and remember that any gift, whether a talent, spiritual, or material is from Him. And when I feel dissatisfied or frustrated with what I have in comparison to someone else, I'm really telling Him to do a better job...you know that's why Satan loves this Comparison Game...because it's another way to try to hurt God. May we not aid him in hurting our Lord.

Sorry for the long post...it was just on my heart today.

Love,

bek