Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant! 2 Corinthians 10:12
Ouch!
Paul, Paul, Paul… You gotta love him. Paul was having a hard time with some of the people in Corinth but in reading this verse recently it brought to mind a situation I found myself in a few months ago.
A friend made a comment that she wished her husband was more like X (x meaning someone else). I smiled and said, I am sure that he wishes you were more like Y.
She turned to look at me with shock and after a couple of seconds we both started laughing our heads off. She then said, “Okay, okay… that was wrong of me.”
I gently noted that it was.
But it is so easy to fall in to the comparison game. We compare ourselves with others, or compare others with someone else.
Paul’s statement to the Corinthians is basically a reminder that it is foolish to compare ourselves and other people with human beings… our comparison should be with God. We shouldn’t be striving to seek the approval of humans, but our highest goal is to be approved by God.
Food for thought: What or who do you measure yourself against? Who or what do you measure others? Why are you measuring others… is your heart in the right place?
Prayer: Faithful God, your word warns us that in the same way we judge others, we will be judged, and with the measure we use, it will be measured to us (Matthew 7:2). Forgive us when we turn away from you to find approval of men. May our own goals and aspirations measure up and be approved by you. May we seek to live Godly lives and by doing so plant seeds and nurture others to live according to your will. In Jesus name. Amen
May God’s mercy, grace and peace be with you.