Mom Heart Moments #197

The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted.

MANY TIMES THIS WEEK, I have been in conversation with different people whom I love and respect, who have expressed feeling inadequate in their lives.

“When I see what so-and-so is doing, I feel that I fall short.”

“I think I am disappointing so many people. I can’t seem to call everyone back, respond to emails, get all the housework done, and be patient —I always feel like I am falling short.”

“My children seem to fight all the time. I just can’t seem to manage them like other people do.”

Even my children have felt this way lately.

“Compared to all of the other professional musicians around, I am not up to snuff.”

“Mom, do you think she has more skills than I do? Will you be disappointed in me if I don’t do as well as I thought?”

Comparing ourselves to others is an epidemic. Comparison will always be destructive. We will either find ourselves falling short of others, which will cultivate self-condemnation, or we will find ourselves better than others, and that will bring pride.

Proverbs tells us that “the fear of man brings a snare.” When we look to others for approval, we make them idols. They become the standard by which we think we should live, instead of living by grace and freedom in Christ. When we look to others for our affirmation, we will never find enough. There will always be someone better at what we’re trying to do, prettier, more successful, wiser, more mature . . .

How grateful I am that Jesus shows no favoritism! He reached out to the unlovely, the unpopular, the meek —children, prostitutes, tax collectors, lepers, Roman soldiers, bleeding women, and more —lifting them up and giving them worth.

Are you living under a weight of comparison? It’s time to lay it down. Today, He is reaching out to you.