breaking the scale

Today we are going to tackle a mistake that we all have made. It is a pressure that we all face. A reoccurring habit that keeps us insecure, lacking confidence, and dissatisfied with ourselves. Comparison.

“Wanting to be someone you’re not is a waste of the person you are.”

Because our society is so focused on appearance and self-improvement it is a natural tendency to put ourselves on a scale with other people. We compare ourselves with others sometimes to prove to others and even ourselves of our self-worth, as if we have to validate ourselves. We all want to valuable, but one thing we need to realize is our value is not determined by another’s.

Any artist would tell you it is impossible to compare any two works of art. They are all different. They each have different elements, textures, colors, shadowing, and they each require different tools in order to be created with just the right precision. Each of them have a different story they are portraying or message they are trying to get across. It would be impossible to say that one is better than another, because that would be ignoring the message, ignoring the story, ignoring all the artists’ work and attention to detail that was put into the piece. Each is a masterpiece in it’s own sense. We are the same way. It would be impossible to put a higher value on one of us without under-appreciating all that we represent and without under-appreciating the artist who sculpted and created us. We are each one a masterpiece.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:13-16

Comparing ourselves with others not only devalues our artist’s craftsmanship, but it also devalues our self-worth. A friend of mine once said, “Comparing yourself with someone else is spiritual suicide.” We will never understand our worth by setting ourselves up on a scale; that only shows the differences between two people, not the value each hold. Something that I think is so cool is God doesn’t put us on a scale, he doesn’t hold us up and see how we measure up to someone else. He doesn’t see us against anyone else, he just sees us. God sees our potential, he sees what we one day will be. That is so awesome, God sees the potential that we don’t see in ourselves. If we could see all the greatness that is within us maybe we could catch a glimpse of the value that God has given us and the price tag attached that reads “priceless”.

We need to break the scale that we have been putting ourselves on that will never show us our worth. If we look to the one who gives us value we can start to understand the masterpieces that we really are.

Be sure to go check out After Nine to Five blog to see some Q&A between myself and Ashley. You might just learn something you didn't know about me!