"They've got it so great. They got to pick their coworkers!"
"She has a husband to help her. I have to do everything myself."
"They don't have to learn a new language."
"She's in an air-conditioned office while I'm sweltering in this tropical heat!"
Most of us fall prey to the Comparison Game at some point or another. You can slap the label missionary on a person but that doesn't make them any less prone to this very human tendency. It may stem from discontentment or insecurity or unthankfulness or self-focus. But at the very heart each of those things is pride, ugly pride.
Can you hear it here?
"I learned the language faster than he did."
"I've sacrificed more than they did."
"My ministry is more important than ___."
"I can't believe she doesn't have time for ___. I guess I must manage my time better than she does."
Whether we puff ourselves up or wallow in self-pity, we are acting in pride against God.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:12, "When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding." What is it that we don't understand when we start playing the Comparison Game? That God doesn't use another person as the standard to measure our performance or character by; He is the standard.
When we look around and compare ourselves to others, it's like trying to measure a yard of fabric based on random scraps you have lying around. It's silly and it doesn't work. That's what a yardstick is for!
"...it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends." (2 Corinthians 10:18)
I say this to myself first of all: Let's stop seeking to gain approval by standing next to someone else. Let's seek the Lord's approval and focus on His perfect standard: grace and truth.
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