"Comparison is the thief of joy" - Theodore Roosevelt
DIFFERENT. Our society has made us think that being different is wrong. If you are DIFFERENT to your friends then that means you don’t fit in, if you have a DIFFERENT body type to the ones showcased in magazines, then you are seemingly unattractive and if your interests are different to those of others, then that makes you weird. We blame society, but we are society. We fall into the comparison trap we’ve made for ourselves, believing that if we are more like our friends or we look more like supermodels in magazines then we’ll be much happier. But it’s a vicious circle and the more we compare and try to be LESS like ourselves, the unhappier we become. When we start comparing ourselves, we stop realising why God made us different.
If God made us all the same, then how would that reflect His power and creativity as a designer? God doesn’t make prototypes of people. He makes individuals with unique characters and distinct physical appearances in order to show his versatility. How can we, on one hand, admire and give thanks to God for His beautiful world with all its variety (the Grand Canyon in Arizona, the Salt Lakes in Bolivia and the Amazon rainforest) but not see the beauty in our individuality? How come the “heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1), yet as humans, ‘God’s most precious creation’ (Genesis 1: 26-28) we reject the idea that our diversity is beautiful? Does that not belittle His creation?
SPOILER- If you enter a room and find yourself not fitting in, then the room was missing something; you brought it by showing up! Through your difference, people got to see more of God’s creation!
Comparing our outward appearance is the biggest trap we find ourselves falling into but we can also find ourselves comparing lifestyles and other personal attributes. If you are part of a church community, you may have heard people talking about their ‘gifting’, a God-given talent and part of our character that God has passed onto us to serve others and bring glory to Him. Don't fool yourself into thinking that gifts are only awarded to the best or most holy people. God has given everyone gifts, including YOU! Spiritual gifts are something every believer receives when they accept the gift of salvation. Just as the gift of salvation is given by grace through faith, so are the spiritual gifts.
Unfortunately, we’re often too busy looking sideways at others’ achievements to recognise the gifts God has granted us. We draw conclusions that we are inadequate in comparison to others and it’s our self-doubt that prevents God from using our gifts. Imagine this; it’s Christmas Day and your dad gives you and your sibling a gift. Your brother/sister opens their present and it’s a beautiful camera. You think it’s amazing at first, but as they begin to use it, you realise that they’re actually really talented at photography and you become jealous. You haven’t even opened your gift yet but you don’t think there’s any point, because you know whatever it is, it either won’t be as amazing as your sibling’s or you won’t be as good at using the gift as them.
However, if we take the focus off yourself and on to your dad, how do you think he feels? He loves and knows you so well and believes he’s chosen the best gift for you. Now imagine your dad is God and the Christmas presents are your talents and spiritual gifts. God delights in giving us special talents that we can use to glorify Him; He knows us better than we know ourselves and knows that our gift is perfect for us. What a waste that we might go our whole lives not using them because of our sense of inadequacy. Someone once wrote “Life is the most difficult exam. Many people fail because they try to copy others, not realizing that everyone has a different question paper”. And it's true! We all have DIFFERENT roles, and God has DIFFERENT plans for our lives. That’s precisely why we have to cultivate DIFFERENT characteristics and nurture our DIFFERENT giftings.
So I challenge you; Don’t become so busy looking at someone else’s life that you forget to see what God is doing in yours and how he can use YOU. We are being used by God to reach other people. Not everyone will connect to God through a sermon, but they might through a song or a piece of artwork or over a phone call. 1 Peter 4:10-11 says “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to SERVE OTHERS, as faithful stewards of God in VARIOUS FORMS… so that in all things God may be praised through Christ Jesus”. God uses us to magnify His creation to those that haven’t seen it- “for just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.” Romans 12: 4-6. The Bible reinforces the message that God made us individual, it’s how we were designed, meaning our differences are not a mistake.
I don’t mean to say that you can’t admire people’s qualities, because encouraging others is a great way to show Jesus’ love. However, as a community of people who love Jesus, we can champion other people’s great qualities whilst also using ours. God is so great that He can still be working through you, whilst simultaneously working through others. Imagine for a second, all the Avengers became clones of Iron Man, wouldn’t that be a huge waste of their individual talents? Would they still succeed in their missions? Probably not, is the answer. And that’s the same with you. God has designed you perfectly to fulfill YOUR role, to work alongside and draw on the strengths of others. He’s equipped each of us with everything we need to do this.
One person who knew he was DIFFERENT and who made a DIFFERENCE by being DIFFERENT was Jesus. Jesus came to earth, knowing what expectations God (not the world) wanted him to fulfill. He showed people unconditional love, a kind of love no one had experienced before. He was not distracted by comparison because he was captivated by his purpose; to bring glory to God. So he drew close to God, asked Him how he was to be used and then with the gifts he'd been given he carried out his Father's commands.
And luckily for us, the only person God wants us to be like is Jesus. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ”. If we imitate Jesus, then we will be captivated by our purpose- “to love the Lord your God… and love your neighbour as yourself” Mark 12:30-31. Then, we will celebrate our DIFFERENCES as we recognise that the real reason we are individual is to fulfill our purpose and reflect God’s glory.
Putting it into Practice -
Today, I challenge you to ask God how He is using you and your gifts to glorify Him. If you are struggling to know how God is using you, maybe just say a simple prayer "God show me what my gifting is and how you want me to use it to serve others and glorify you". Our giftings are often the things we're good at and enjoy doing (Romans 12:6-8). So if you're arty, you could illustrate a Bible verse, if you're musical you could play or sing along to a worship song, but "whatever you do, do it for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).