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Do You Compare and Despair?

Do You Compare and Despair? When we compare we either compare our best quality with someone else’s worst quality and become proud, or we compare our worst quality with someone else’s best quality and we despair. Either way, we lose. #Godlyway #godly #Godlyways #biblicalencouragement

How many times do you think you’ve told or taught your children (and yourself) not to compare? Frankly, I’ve lost count.

Just today the monster raised its ugly head again in our home. Yes, it was me who got caught, and one of my children is struggling too.

When we compare we either compare our best quality with someone else’s worst quality and become proud, or we compare our worst quality with someone else’s best quality and we despair. Either way, we lose.

Let’s see how this looks for homeschool moms. We all see and hear about how much better homeschooled students score when compared to their public schooled counterparts. It gives us a sense of pride to see how well we do. And socialization — our children get along with everyone.

But let’s take a look in our secret hearts and see what happens when we compare our children to other homeschooled children. Ah, I hear that ugly voice again, “You should have put your children in speech and debate. Look how well the Smith children are doing. Oh, mine are missing out on so much. And the Jones children are doing dual enrollment classes. Oh, we’re going to be so far behind because we didn’t do that this year. Never mind that your children are already busy from morning until night doing all the things you and your husband think the Lord has led you to have them working on. Somehow when we see others succeed, instead of rejoicing with them for the gifts the Lord has given their children, we feel the need to compete — to have our children do everything as well as everyone else does.

Kathy Butryn quotes St. Francis de Sales who says,

“Nothing so hinders us in what we are doing as to be longing after something else; in so doing, we leave off tilling our own field, to drive the plough through our neighbour’s land, where we must not look to reap a harvest; and this is a mere waste of time. If our thoughts and hopes are elsewhere, it is impossible for us to set our faces steadily towards the work required of us.”

Did you hear that? “If our thoughts and hopes are elsewhere, it is impossible for us to set our faces steadily towards the work required of us.”

Won’t you join me as I learn to rejoice in all that the Lord is doing in and through your families, and to keep my face steadily toward the work HE requires of me?

Read the rest of Kathy Butryn’s devotional.

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Phyllis Sather
Proclaiming God’s Faithfulness at:
http://www.Phyllis-Sather.com

© 2009 Phyllis Sather
All rights reserved

Contact me at: Phyllis@Phyllis-Sather.com

2 Comments

  • Phyllis
    Posted September 8, 2009 at 6:33 AM

    We all go through seasons – some different than we would choose, but the Lord always knows what is best for us and our children.

  • Stacy
    Posted September 6, 2009 at 6:07 PM

    That is so very true. Since I’ve had to re-enter the workforce, it has been hard not to compare myself to others. For the first time in a long time, there are a myriad of FREE classes offered through our hs group that I wish dd could take. However, we just can’t do it because of the whole transportation issue. Yet, I know God has placed me in the job where I am, so I must focus on that, and not on what I feel we are missing out on.

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