How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

Would you ever tell a friend that she isn’t worthy in comparison to someone else? That her skills and abilities don’t measure up to the people around her? That she looks, behaves, or works worse than everyone else?

Of course you wouldn’t! But consider all the times you’ve looked in the mirror and disliked what you saw, or all the times in which you yearned to be like someone else. Those things that you would never dare say to anyone else probably became pretty easy to say to yourself.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

When we compare ourselves to others, we essentially let these people become the dictators of our self-worth. If we’re better than them, we feel worthy, and if we’re worse, we feel worthless. But this could not be further from the truth!

From the day you were knit together in the womb,God gave you a purpose. The same God who created the mountains and the seas looked at you and thought you were equally worthy of creation. How incredible is that?

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:14)

You see, our worth comes from above – not from the world. The Lord created each and every one us in His perfect image, and there’s nothing we can do to increase or decrease our value in His eyes.

In fact, when we believe we aren’t pretty or talented enough, we believe that He didn’t do a satisfactory job creating us. Imagine if you spent all this time intricately designing something only for it to be torn down by criticism. The hurt you would feel in this situation is the same hurt God feels every time you compare yourself – His beautiful creation – to others and feel inadequate.

“But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.” (2 Corinthians 10:12)

So next time you find yourself comparing yourself to others, take a step back and remember that you were made perfect in God’s image. Know that your strengths and weakness were specifically tailored to you and your purpose in the world, and remind yourself of your heavenly worth. Any time a comparison-ridden thought pops into your head, pray for God to help you capture and surrender it to Him. It may seem difficult at the moment, but with time and God on your side, you can find freedom from comparison’s shackles.