“Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.” Romans 12:4-5 (NLT)
We’ve all heard countless quotes about the importance of not comparing ourselves with other people…
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” -Theodore Roosevelt
“Never compare someone else’s highlight reel with your behind the scenes footage.” - Dave Ramsey.
“The moment you start comparing yourself is the moment you lose confidence in yourself.” - Anonymous
Though these wise words all ring true, we typically let them go in one ear and out the other, don’t we? I know I do.
We know we shouldn’t compare ourselves with others, but it is so much more than that. I think we were meant to take it a step further. Instead of comparing and competing with each other, we are commanded to come alongside and encourage each other. Beth Moore challenges, “Do not let this world and this narcissistic culture make competitors out of the very people who are meant to be your comrades in arms.”
Satan is the master of lies. He will take every single chance he can to make you believe that you aren’t good enough, worth it, or of any use. Beyond that, he wants to divide the body of Christ. If he can get us to compete with each other, there is no way we will be able to work together effectively.
The Lord, however, says otherwise. He made and placed you on this earth, in your own town, with your unique background to glorify Him in a way that no one else on earth can, and because of that, comparisons are useless. Only you can be who God intended you to be. When we see that who we are individually matters, we can confidently join along with our sisters in Christ, knowing there is room for all of us to succeed in our own callings.
Priscilla Shirer said it this way in her study of Jonah, “God doesn’t need us to complete His purposes, yet He still chooses to ask us to partner with Him. It’s unfathomable. His calling you means that He has chosen you above anyone else to do what He is asking. You are the one He singled out and pinpointed as His partner for a particular project.”
God has given each of us individual talents, giftings, experiences, quirks, and stories specifically to fulfill our own roll for the Kingdom of God. We are who we are because God designed us intricately to use our specific identities to serve Him and relate to others who need Jesus. Because of that, we can join together as sisters in Christ and spur each other on as we each work toward our goal of bringing Jesus glory in our lives and showing others who He is. That is why The Front Porch was created.
As Christian women, we have two choices. We can either compare ourselves to our peers, looking inward and trying to make our own selves better, or we can join with our fellow sisters in the faith, looking toward Christ as our leader in effort to make this world better by drawing them to Him. We are on this earth to use our unique purposes together to impact this world for the Kingdom of God.
Let’s get to it!
*Shirer, Priscilla. “Jonah: Navigating a Life Interrupted”. (Lifeway Christian Resources, 2010)
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