Is Comparison the Thief of Joy?

Hey, y'all! :)

This is a short piece I wrote a week or so ago, and I wanted to share it with you. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading!

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Theodore Roosevelt said, "Comparison is the thief of joy." If you think about that statement, it rings true. We often compare ourselves to others...not just appearance-wise, or even job- or possession-wise, but when it comes to faith. It's easy to look at fellow Christians around us and compare our walks with God to theirs. For example, it's easy to say that we're better than the Christian who sins publicly, but it's also easy to say that because everybody else isn't perfect, or we feel less mature in our faith, that we may as well not even try.

Think about this for a second: God wants a real, loving relationship with you (John 10:14) . If you're constantly comparing your relationship with God with others', it's like you're comparing the relationship you have with your own family and friends with other folks who know completely different people.

So, is comparison truly the thief of joy? It can be.

But instead of comparing ourselves to others, why don't we get together and build our faith together? Fellowship and Bible studies are a great way to do so, and these can better equip us to evangelize to others and bring them into our fold. Outside of our congregation, we can study what God has to say and pray together within our own and our friends' homes. We need to encourage each other and build each other up, not comparing each other to ourselves from the sidelines (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

At the end of the day, we're all human, and comparison is sometimes inevitable. But instead of letting it get us down, we can evaluate ourselves and make sure we are walking the straight and narrow path Heavenward (Matthew 7:13-14).