After graduating high school, I found myself, like many others, ensnared in the venomous cycle of comparison and envy. Social media, social media, social media. A beautiful, but often abused tool of ingenuity. I have frequently come across pictures of former classmates beginning careers, accomplishing goals, and even getting married. As a young adult, such encounters have led to deep questioning within me at times. How come I can’t measure up to these people? Why do I feel so far behind? How does everyone else seem to have their life figured out? While such questions need to be taken captive, there is a larger issue here. It is the matter of my reaction to what I was seeing, and continue to see, that must be examined.
Why was I seeing such stories as symbols of self-reflection rather than being happy for the people who were involved? This is the result of making ourselves the center of the universe. With placing ourselves at the center, we view everything in relation to the implications on our own lives. A friend gets a new job. Well, how does that affect me? How does that make me look compared to them? Like an emotional ticket booth, people have to pay homage to our own feelings before gaining admittence to share what they will. Sadly, in this, true sincerity can be lost.
“LIKE AN EMOTIONAL TICKET BOOTH, PEOPLE HAVE TO PAY HOMAGE TO OUR OWN FEELINGS BEFORE GAINING ADMITTANCE TO SHARE WHAT THEY WILL.”
Life is not about me. Life is not about you. On the contrary, life is about glorifying God. Therefore, we are called to rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15). Yet, the command and guidance does not end here. As Christians, we are also called to weep with those who weep. Therefore, when we hear of a long-lost friend or family member achieving success that is out of our current scope, we should not be discouraged or envious due to our own plight or our feelings of falling short. Rather, let us rejoice in such an accomplishment. Furthermore, when we come across a message filled with the cracks of a broken heart, let us embrace the sorrow of the person by which the message was sent. We live in an increasingly individualistic society where people are very narrowly focused and honed in on ways to prove themselves as better. Our minds need to be renewed (Romans 12:2) so that we are not constantly comparing, but instead are being sources of support to others through both the peaks and the valleys of life.
Even so, let us not allow the joy or the pain to dilute the ultimate hope that we have in Christ Jesus, who, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2). Abraham rejoiced in the promise of this Messiah; the One who was before Abraham was, the Great I AM (John 8:56-58). Friends, with the work done on the cross being complete as our Lord cried out, “It is finished” (John 19:30); with the Resurrection and Ascension having taken place in history, we also ought to rejoice in the King of Glory (1 Peter 3:22, and Psalm 24:9-10). May we rejoice with those around us as an extension of this ultimate victory. Lord willing, this will impact the way we see others and their circumstances, and the Church may be built up day by day, from the smallest-scale things to the largest-scale things (Colossians 1:18). My hope is that these would not be mere words on a digital page, but that these sentiments would be reflected in our thoughts, our words, our habits, and our relationships. All the while, let us seek to glorify God!
