They say curiosity killed the cat but I think a much more deadly threat is comparison, and it has taken way more lives. Olivia Rodrigo goes where many of us live our entire lives. Comparison is a serial killer of wholeness of life and it hits with an unapologetic deadly stroke. It creates a constant state of suffering in silence inside the minds of its victims leaving deep scars and seeping wounds that never heal and lead to a debilitating future.
Rodrigo bellows, “Comparison is killing me slowly. I think I think too much about kids who don’t know me. I’m so sick of myself. I’d rather be anyone else. Jealousy, jealousy started following me.”
Groovy, isn’t it? You feel that? Been there? Riding that struggle bus? Lots of seats on that tour but the fares are steep. There will always be someone better, prettier, stronger, more qualified, smarter, more disciplined, more successful. And living that life can destroy a person very slowly, but absolutely and completely.
Our society does not help in fighting against this monster. In fact, the fangs of social media deliver such a paralyzing dose of false reality in every venomous bite that it’s sufferers spin out of control in delusion.
Jesus has the antidote.
In a few different scenarios with his disciples, Jesus addresses the matter. In one instance he gets on them for arguing about which of them were the greatest (Mark 9:33-37). He also tells a very pressing story about how the resources of life are not always going to fit our understanding of equality (Matt 20:1-16). Then, another time we see him speaking to one of his closest companions about the seemingly unfair situation regarding how the end of life will look will for him versus another disciple (John 21:15-22).
Viktor Frankl, a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps of World War 2, wrote a book entitled, ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’. In it, he talks about his experiences and time spent there, recounting the atrocities he encountered and brutalities he endured. This memoir is more than just a detailed account of all the inhumanity, pain, torture, and suffering of this gruesome history. And it bears repeating.
There are a few things that I wish to relay to you, and if I could, to Olivia as well, from Viktor’s chronicles, that I think Jesus has already backed with his life and words in the abovementioned examples.
In the first chapter of his book, Viktor shares a quote from the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. “One who has a WHY to live for can endure almost any HOW.” He goes on to say that we must CHOOSE our attitude in each set of circumstances.
This sounds a little too idealistic but think about it from the perspective of the one who is speaking. This is a man who lived through the most dehumanizing conditions, stripped naked of EVERYTHING including his identity and dignity, starved for months, watched countless lives perish, was abused without remorse, laid in human filth for days, and lived in constant fear of the worst all the while longing for death. So, it’s not just someone blowing smoke who’s never had a bad day. This is precisely the way that Viktor lived through such a hell and emerged VIKTORIOUSLY!!! (Pun intended.)
It’s like Jesus saying the way to be of MOST SIGNIFICANCE is to be the LEAST OF ALL; the way to be FIRST is to live LAST. Jesus wasn’t trying to make himself feel better about his humble circumstances and unfair living conditions. He spoke as one who came from eternal glory, holy royalty, and blessed community to complete humiliation, total degradation, and painful isolation!
So, if Jesus can live beyond the grave and Viktor can “grow in spite of all indignities,” then you and I can most certainly find life beyond comparisons.
One final revelation to share is a collaboration from scripture and Mr. Frankl. Viktor said, “The salvation of man is IN love and THROUGH love.” The apostle John wrote that “God is Love” (1 John 4:7). And the author in Proverbs 8 relays the word of God saying, “He who finds (God), finds life.”
So, stop trying to deflect poisonous self-assessment bullets with a paper shield. Quit letting the enemy bury you with buckets of broken perspectives. Release the self-imposed hands of social strangulation.
Choose a better attitude. Rise above the clutter of comparison. Let Jesus solidify your identity and elevate your value!
Brett
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