Comparison: When the Enemy Creeps In
- Lori Ogilbee
- Jul 4, 2024
- 3 min read
“If I spend my entire life coveting my neighbor’s talents (or their “perfect” kids), I’m not letting God bless me the way He wants to bless me because I can’t get out of my own way.”
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)
As a single mom raising two teenagers, I spent a fair amount of time riding the comparison train. I spent hours thinking about how much I wished my kids behaved like my friend’s kids, or how much I wished I could be a mom like my friend Jenny, or that I had unlimited financial resources like another friend, etc., etc. When I say I spent hours, I mean that I would lie awake at night thinking about how I could be different, how I could be better, how I could be more like someone else.
I was even a Jesus follower at this time. In fact, I was experiencing the closest faith walk of my life. That’s when it happens, though. The enemy sees us trying to give our entire self to God to mold and shape and finds the smallest crack in the armor. 1 Peter 5:8 reminds us that we must “be watchful” as the enemy “prowls around like a roaring lion.” I had struggled with inferiority, insecurity, and terrible self-esteem since becoming divorced the year before.
Somehow, I allowed myself to look at all the other “happy” families around me and focused on them, instead of fully on God. It made me resentful of those who were my closest friends. The enemy launched a full scale war on my mind, and occupied my thoughts with comparison.
After nearly a year in this prison of comparison, a podcast sermon allowed me to realize that I am “uniquely me.” In this message, I learned that no one gets the whole package. I’ve got a part to play, and so do you. We’re all a part of the body of Christ. So what if I’m the big toe? 1 Corinthians 12:23 (NLT) says that the “parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care.” Additionally, I learned that God gives some of the least expectant people some of the biggest giftings and talents. Only I have been equipped to know just what my kids need when I see a particular expression or concern in their eyes. God gave that only to me.
Being uniquely me means that I must trust God with the lives of not only myself and my children, but with the lives of those others that I am comparing myself to. I have to allow them to have their role in the body while I’m focusing on my own role. If I spend my entire life coveting my neighbor’s talents (or their “perfect” kids), I’m not letting God bless me the way He wants to bless me because I can’t get out of my own way.
Action Steps:
Today is your day… Thank God for making you and your children uniquely you. Allow Him to help you live your life focusing on your talents and gifts and how you can use them to fulfill your role in the body. You’ll find that there’s never been another like you, and there never will be.
Written by Lori, mom of 2, Lolli of 2