The Comparison Game

Kristi McQueen earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Kinesiology at Abilene Christian University and her Master’s of Science in Exercise Physiology at Midwestern State University. She leads the fitness program at The Refuge, and she offers personal fitness and training programs. For more information on fitness at The Refuge, please visit www.TheRefugeOlney.com. This column is published on the first Thursday every month.

Oftentimes we find ourselves comparing ourselves to others. When we do so there are two directions that we can take. One, we consider ourselves better than others. We elevate ourselves and in doing so we can put others down. It can even go as far as being glad that you are not where they are. The other direction is feeling like we don’t measure up. We put someone else up above ourselves and can feel rejected or not good enough. This happens in every area of our lives.

When working out, it is easy to become discouraged when we feel unable to do an exercise or when we struggle to do an exercise while someone else just breezes through it. And this can cause you to not want to try it at all or to stop exercising all together. On the other hand, we can discourage others by exclaiming how easy it is for us and that it should be simple. When you compare yourself to others you can unknowingly discourage someone else or you can become discouraged yourself.

This also happens quite a bit in our spiritual lives. There are times where we may feel elevated because of how spiritual we view ourselves to be, and there are times when we can feel disheartened when we view others as having it all together and being mature in their faith while we seem to be struggling. Neither is right.

There is always going to be someone that you consider better than yourself and that you can never be where they are. And there is always going to be someone that you may see yourself as better than. But God doesn’t call us to compare ourselves to one another. Yes, we are to humble ourselves and not boast in our own abilities. But that also doesn’t mean that we consider ourselves as worthless. We can humble ourselves and find our worth, not in the material things of this world, but in Christ.

We are all in different places in our journeys and should seek to encourage one another wherever we are, both physically with exercising and improving your health, as well as spiritually, improving your relationship with God. Don’t let yourself be discouraged by others and do your best not to discourage those around you. Don’t let the comparison game hold you back. Instead, listen to God’s word and what He says about your worth and keep moving forward.