“A peaceful heart tends to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.”
Proverbs 14:30
It has become so easy to compare ourselves to other people on a daily basis. It’s so easy to say ‘run your race’ but when it seems like everyone is passing you by, it’s a difficult principle to live out. This topic has been on my heart to write about for a while because it’s become so prevalent in my life. As life got hectic and I took a break from writing, I started to compare myself to other people who looked like they were ahead of me. I felt this urge to create content, but it wasn’t for the right reasons. I lost sight of the reason I created Gracefully Broken and why I wanted to expand it.
My goal in writing these blog posts and working on other projects isn’t to look like I’m doing something for Instagram. It’s to encourage other people to do the things called them to do, even if it seems scary. Content may look esthetically pleasing on social media, but what pleases God content in my heart. If the content I’m posting comes out of jealousy and envy, it may be acknowledged by the world, but it won’t be acknowledged by God. I lost the passion I had for Gracefully Broken because I was so focused on what everyone else was doing.
Jealousy affects your body just like a disease, it eats at everything until there’s nothing left. When we are content with our place in the race, the Lord can trust us to do more. Comparison is the enemy’s way of distracting us, and your purpose is too important to get distracted. God is just as proud of you as He is the person next to you. We cannot let other people’s gifts keep us from walking on purpose.
I’m currently walking through a study about comparison centered around body image and I’m so excited to share my experience with you guys. Writing my blog post for the past two weeks, gave me a reminder for why I’m doing this. I never used to be someone who would ever let ANYONE read my writing, it was something I felt the urge to protect. But now, I get so excited to share it because it encourages so many people. In a way, it’s become therapeutic to be transparent and vulnerable, which are two words that were not in my vocabulary for a long time.
In our generation, there is a lack of authenticity, and social media creates a highlight reel of the best moments in our lives. No one shares the hard moments, understandably because there are some things we don’t want to expose to people who barely know us. So this next series is going to break down the fruits comparison produces in our lives. It’s time we start to normalize our real lives and all the things that come with them.
Naturally, we are prone to compare ourselves to other people, so let’s start working through it.