Stop the Comparisons

"STOP THE COMPARISONS!" I recently said those exact words to my 10 year old daughter. She's constantly looking at what her friends have and wants the same thing. "My friends saw this movie, why can't I watch it?" ... "My friend has a laptop, why can't I have a laptop?" ... My response is usually "I don't care what other people have, I care about you and right now, you can't have that"We all fall into the comparison trap. Relationships, money, cars, clothes, haircuts, body type, job status. Even in sports, comparing athletes to each other has become 2nd nature. We're constantly comparing ourselves to each other. But why do we do this? Is it insecurity? Is it the constant search for perfection? Is it a lack of confidence?I've seen the comparison trap really get a hold of people because it doesn't allow them to ever be content with what God has blessed them with. They're constantly looking at others and either trying to measure up, or trying to tear down. When we compare ourselves to others, it often can bring a sense of superiority that can often cause us to be prideful.Proverbs 16:18 says that “pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”If we continue to ignore our own comparisons to others, it can lead to a dangerous mindset of arrogance that can be very difficult to break free from. The bible says that God so loved THE WORLD. Jesus loved equally. That's how we should be. Forget comparisons. Just love people for who they are. Do less comparing and be more compassionate.I asked twitter what they thought about the dangers of comparisons. John Michael Morgan had a great response - "the danger is in comparing where we are starting with where someone else already is" He also says there's also a danger in comparing with other people when you don't have context. "Some people seem to have it 'all' but behind closed doors, they do not"My old boss Tom Parker may have said it best. "Comparison delays progress. Compare yourself to yourself. Only you know you"I don't have the answer, but I do believe that the less comparing we do, the better people we can be. STOP THE COMPARISONS![embed]https://twitter.com/bobgoff/status/567712729075429376[/embed]