Comparison Kills your Anointing

“But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.” – Galatians 6:4

I thoroughly enjoy social media. I love to post ridiculous stuff and make people laugh. Those that follow my social media timelines know that I rarely post anything serious. I enjoy keeping up with old friends that no longer live in my area. I love seeing the life celebrations of family and friends. However, there is a lot of toxicity on every platform online. Many people post completely inappropriate content. Others are constantly looking to debate and pick fights with whomever takes the bait. Online bullying is rapidly becoming a major issue. And some people are simply attention seekers that post vague statements and then wait for others to ask about it. (I’m looking at you Mr. “feeling frustrated”)

One of the worst things to come from social media though, is the constant barrage of comparison. Keeping up with the “Joneses” has reached absurd new levels. We are constantly seeing other people’s “greatest hits” online and comparing it with our everyday life and wondering how they have it so good. Spoiler alert – they don’t. Their highlight reel on Facebook is ten percent of what their life really looks like. But we keep posting the mountain tops and keeping all the challenges and hard times on the down low. And there is certainly some merit to that. You don’t need to air out your dirty laundry on Facebook. Not everyone should receive our transparency. I discovered long ago that not all my friends online are “Team Chris”. But so many folks live a life that is the polar opposite of their online presentation.

I wish I could tell you that the church is immune from this pernicious comparison mindset, but sadly, it is not. Looking at other Christians as measuring sticks for our maturity, growth, and giftings is not only illogical, but it is downright dangerous. The natural progression of this type of comparison goes from admiration to envy to a judging spirit. Many unbelievers and non-church-attending Christians avoid church because of that harsh judgmental attitude. And so much of that ugliness is birthed from comparison.

While this destructive attitude has increased in today’s social media and reality TV culture, it is not a new problem. The Apostle Paul talks about this spirit in II Corinthians 10:12 where he says, “For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” While Paul is asserting that God had indeed granted him some authority over the churches of the time, he never wanted himself, or other believers to start comparing themselves with others in the church body. He calls it foolish. Buy why?

Paul writes in I Corinthians 7:7, “For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.” We are all part of the church body, but we all have our own separate gift. He further explains that trying to emulate someone else’s calling or gifting is a futile business. Peter reiterates this as he urges the church (and us!) to use what God has given us. I Peter 4:10 says, “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good steward of the manifold grace of God.” I don’t have the gift of preaching. I admire those who do, but it isn’t what I was graced to do. I was graced to write, so here we are.

So what happens when we start foolishly comparing ourselves and our gifts with others? In I Corinthians 12, Paul illustrates how obtuse it can become when envy and judging become pervasive in the church body. The Message translation puts I Corinthians 12:14-18 like this, “I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, ‘I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings: I guess I don’t belong to this body,’ would that make it so? If Ear said, ‘I’m not beautiful like Eye, transparent and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,’ would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.” This analogy looks silly, but we can certainly see what he means. There are no insignificant parts of the body. Let’s be secure in our callings and ministries. Let’s be supporters and encouragers of others who are walking out their callings and ministries. We are called to serve others, so let’s do it with excellence, with confidence, and in humility. After all, we didn’t gift or call ourselves; God called us and gifted us through His grace. We will never be as fulfilled as we are when we are doing what we’re called to do!