Galatians 6:4-5

“Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct”

We are all tempted to fall for the comparison trap partly because we want to know where we are at and if we are measuring up. The problem with this is not only is this measurement very subjective because it’s based on our interpretation of success and our perception which is often faulty but what are we measuring up to? When we engage in the comparison trap, we end up trying to measure up to others. This leads to competing with others instead of complementing and coming alongside them. It traps us into a life of performance-based living where we waste our lives running on the never-ending treadmill of pride, guilt and exhaustion. It’s no wonder that Theodore Roosevelt so famously said, “Comparison is the Thief of Joy” How many of us are living joyless lives because we are focused on comparison instead of Christ. In John 16:22 Jesus gave us an amazing promised, “No one will take your joy from you,” But what did He mean by that? Because I know there have been times when I find myself pursuing joy because I have lost it. I have to confess that this seeming contradiction used to confuse me; “If no one can take my joy, then why is my joy missing?” I repeated the contradiction over and over again in my mind. “No one can take your joy…I lost my joy…no one can take your joy…I lost my joy… oh! I lost my joy!” that is when the light bulb finally turned on. No one took my joy, I simply stopped being intentional about experiencing it! Joy is a little bit like a sweater that gets buried in the back of the closet from not being worn. It may have been forgotten about, but it remains in the closet waiting to be pulled out and put on. We didn’t lose it we just didn’t put it on! There are 25 different Hebrew words and 10 Greek words that make up the over 150 references to joy in the Bible.Looking at these words for joy we see two main definitions emerge. The first is gladness in the Lord. If asked to define joy, most people would give a word similar to gladness, such as happiness, contentment, or delight. While these words define the emotion of joy, none reflect the source of the emotion. You see while happiness is based on your happenings, joy is based on Jesus. That is why according to James 1:2 we are to, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Finding joy in trials and suffering is only possible because joy comes from gladness in the Lord alone. While happiness is tied to our circumstances joy is tied to Christ. Are you Christ or circumstance focused?  The second definition is rejoicing which describes the outward expression of our internal joy. In the Bible, rejoicing takes the form of leaping, shouting, singing, playing music and dancing. The Psalms in particular describe these forms of rejoicing.

“Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.” Psalm 33:1-3

“Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.” Psalm 47:1

Notice how the two main definitions of biblical joy are connected; rejoicing flows out of gladness in the Lord and our gladness in the Lord increases the more we rejoice. Because joy means gladness in the Lord losing our joy suggests we shifted our focus from God’s goodness to our own troubles, unhappiness, or pain. That’s why refocusing on God is the first step to rediscovering our joy. Take some time to meditate on God and His goodness and ask Him to reignite your gladness in the Savior instead of your situation.

Galatians 6:4-5

“Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct”

The temptation to compare in our culture is everywhere and because it is so strong we need to look at ways to combating comparison. The following are two practical ways that have helped me begin to live life differently and let go of the deadly and destructive vice of comparison.

1. Celebrate who God created you to be

Learn to like yourself. When you downgrade yourself, not only will you not see the masterpiece God has made you to be, but you will be critical of His creation. Ephesians 2:10 reminds us, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” You have great value. You are rare and one-of-a-kind. Got didn’t create you for you to try to be somebody else. Begin to focus on the unique strengths and potential He has deposited in you. Because what you focus on you magnify. Are you flaw focus or Father focused? Do you see the problems or the potential? When you become happy with yourself and your qualities you can then begin to also celebrate the gifts of others. If you don’t you will spend your energy not only trying to be somebody else but also trying to change everyone around you. When we see our spouse and say I am going to change them, what you are really saying is that when God made them, He messed up but don’t worry I can fix God’s mistakes! God called us to live the abundant life not an arrogant one. This world is continually sending the message that we are not enough, smart enough, good looking enough, loveable enough unless we buy this or buy into that. As a result, many have developed a critical self-spirit that not only affects but is also infecting others. If we are honest, we all have our own life or death battles. Every day from the moment we wake up, we engage with the struggles of our mind, society, and relationships. Life is full of fears, doubts and regrets that if we don’t deal with will rob us of life as they seek to control and steal our soul. We have to begin each day acknowledging our surroundings, focusing our thoughts, journeying inward to recognize what fears, what doubts, what “demons” are lurking beneath the surface.  1 Peter 5:7 tells us to, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” But it’s hard to cast what you are not aware of! It takes focus, discipline, and an awareness of ourselves to engage fully in the world around us. If we focus on the negatives, if we let fear drive our actions, then our reality is one of suffering and resentment. We become stuck on autopilot. We go through the motions instead of really living. We seek distractions so we never have to be alone with ourselves. An unfocused mind is fear’s greatest ally.

2. Focus on the Messiah instead of the media. 

What if we meditated on God’s Beauty and His Word instead of on the world? God created human beings to crave, to wonder, and to be fascinated by beauty. Psalm 27:4 reminds us to seek this beauty, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple”. Scripture calls us to fast for the purpose of focusing on God. When it comes to fasting, we often think of food but what is we fasted from social media? How much time do you spend on social media? What if that time was spent focused on Jesus instead of the junk? The beauty of focusing on Jesus instead of the junk is it frees us from the comparison trap. So, let me encourage you to create a new habit of seeking God first and take a break from social media. I guarantee it won’t be easy because as you will find many of us are addicted to social media. But remember addiction always leads to affliction. We need to learn to refocus and shift our focus from comparisons to Christ.