The Promised LandНамуна

Have you ever been compared to someone else in an unkind way, either to your face or behind your back? It’s one thing when someone you respect helps you become aware of your weaknesses so you can grow; it’s an entirely different thing to have someone shine a light on your flaws to lift up someone else. Most who have experienced this would agree that it makes you feel like face-planting into a ground full of sand.

Sometimes we are the ones comparing ourselves to those around us in an unhealthy way.

When God appeared to Moses in a burning bush, he commanded Moses to “get going”; God had heard the cries of the Hebrews in Egypt and planned to deliver them through Moses. Instead of “getting going”, though, Moses threw out reason after reason why it shouldn’t be him.

When the excuses ran out, he begged, “Lord, please! Send anyone else” (Exodus 4:13, NLT). Certainly, this was in response to how daunting and potentially dangerous this calling was, but it’s also as if Moses was comparing himself to everyone else who could possibly deliver the people and decided he was the worst option.

God was understandably angered by all the back-and-forth but responded graciously by inviting Aaron, Moses’ brother, to serve alongside him.

While we’re simply imagining Aaron being more popular and funnier than Moses, we do know for a fact that he was more skilled than Moses in at least one way: he could “speak well” while Moses’ words got “tangled” (Exodus 4:10; 14). The truth is that Moses and Aaron both had gifts and weaknesses, and they were sent out on a divine mission together. It’s not hard to believe that the Hebrews would have spent some time comparing the brothers throughout their journey to the Promised Land.

We can’t control if others fixate on our flaws compared to someone else’s gifts, but we can control whether or not we let comparison dominate our minds. There is something incredibly freeing about accepting that no one can be great at everything. As a result, we can humbly rely on God in our weakness, respond with gratitude for how God has uniquely gifted each of us, and confidently respond to God’s call on our lives. We can also celebrate the gifts and passions God has given to others and look for ways to serve together.