Day 67: Comparison Kills Love

Read: Romans 13:8-14

I wish being content came easier than jealousy. But, that’s just not the case. My sister, Trisha, being the amazing person she is, has always been extremely gifted in many ways. She’s naturally beautiful, very confident, has a great voice, can play the guitar, and write songs. All I can say is that the artistic part of her brain regularly flourishes.

All of these things are great unless you’re her sister. Then, you find yourself compared to her, and to the greatness that she leaves behind. So many times in my life, certain things were expected of me. Why? Well, because Trisha did it. So, obviously, I should be able to do it in the exact same, perfect way, right? No, that’s not how it works. Because of this constant comparison, I started truly disliking Trisha, wanting to discourage her any chance I could get. I became so unhappy with myself that our relationship started feeling distant and strained.

Romans 13:8-9 states, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” In these verses Paul compares our obligation to love others with other kinds of debts. His point is that while monetary debts can be paid, the obligation we have to love others is never cancelled.

This is so hard to do especially when we don’t really love ourselves. That’s something I personally had to learn and accept that my sister and I are completely different and talented in different ways.  We need to be patient, kind to others and ourselves, not be filled with jealousy.

Loving others is putting them first and not about our own personal agendas. God calls us to love. It’s as simple as that. Let us not follow the example of Joseph’s brothers, selling their own flesh and blood to slavery, all because of rooted jealousy. Instead, let us, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:14).

Today, my sister is one of my best friends. I choose to ignore the comparisons and love her instead.

Jealousy is a dark hole. Ungrateful thoughts and non-stop comparisons usually follow. What can you do to avoid jealousy? How can you better love the people around you? Remember than in moments of weakness, you can call out to God for the strength you need.