Isn’t it hard not to compare yourself to other people? I’ve struggled with comparing myself to others. But it’s like comparing apples and oranges.

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God created us to be exactly as we are. Comparing ourselves to other people isn’t positive or productive. The bible calls it coveting.

We all seem to want what we “think” we don’t have. Woman are especially guilty of comparing themselves to other women.

We compare ourselves to those who have bigger butts, thicker legs, hour glass shapes, prettier faces, or nicer clothes.

This is why women are competitive. I read somewhere that women dress for other women, not for men.

Some women go as far as traveling to other countries to have plastic surgery done. It seems women are never satisfied with what they look like. They want to be someone other than who they are.

People like Lil Kim, Nikki Minaj and others have had extensive plastic surgery done on their bodies. I was grieved when I came across an old photo of Lil Kim. She was beautiful, yet, she bought into the lie that she wasn’t.

I am no different than any of these women. Especially now that I’ve hit middle age. I struggle with the temptation of wishing I was younger and comparing myself to other women I find more appealing, sexier, smarter, or successful.

Years ago, I fell for the peer pressure of what society deems as acceptable and unacceptable. What’s in or not. It was around the time I turned forty that I got fed up of living under other people’s scrutiny and opinions; with their long list of do’s and don’ts’. Who needs it?

It was around the same time I decided not to color my hair anymore. I can’t tell you how much resistance I got when I was transitioning over to grey. I’m so glad I didn’t succumb to it, because I love my silver grey hair.

What I discovered by those who follow the fashion police, is that I find them to be boring. All this emphasis on the external and what they look like, causes a lack the depth and substance to sustain my interest.

What’s the use of looking good on the outside, if you are bankrupt on the inside? You might have all the “external” attributes which the world worships and exploits, but what will happen to you on the inside or when you grow old? What will you do then?

I see all these movie stars that are well in their eighties and deformed by so many surgeries. I think that’s really sad, don’t you?

I personally don’t want to get caught up in the snare of comparing myself to others. I want to love and embrace who God created me to be.

Let’s do ourselves a favor and not get caught up in the comparison game. It is a perpetual trap that will only promise us misery and dissatisfaction.

Let’s break free from the shackles of bondage and focus on what God has blessed us with.

Do you struggle with comparing yourself to others? Do you want to be someone your not? Do you secretly envy other people?