To God, we are each beyond compare

Many of you who read this article remember the words of Max Ehrmann’s Desiderata: “If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.” However, it seems that comparing ourselves with others has always been, and always will be a natural, but avoidable, tendency.

The composer of Psalm 73 sings to us: “I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people.”

My wife was close friends with Kathy Cooke. Kathy, an integral part of Rockdale, was an extremely gifted and humorous writer and speaker, though she didn’t always view herself as such. Especially in comparison with others. She and D.K. shared a friendship with another woman, Susan. Susan, according to her friends, was graceful, eloquent and spoke so well. It was said that listening to her was like watching a flower opening. Once, Kathy and Susan were visiting and conversing. When Susan had left, Kathy said she felt that when she spoke after Susan, it seemed to come out as, “Oink, oink, oink,” (making the sound of a pig).

We compare each other’s abilities, strengths and talents. “I wish I could play the piano like him.” Or “I would like to have her knack for cooking.”

A minister received a Christmas card with a note in it from a lady in his congregation. The note complimented his preaching and even compared him with Billy Graham. She finished by writing, “I think you are one of the great preachers of all time.”

Feeling good about the note, he took it to his wife and asked, “Sweetheart, how many great preachers do you suppose there actually are in the world?”

She looked down at the card, looked up at her husband, and then replied, “One less preacher than you think.”

We compare each other’s life circumstances. Such as comparing our work and compensation with that of pro football athletes and their salaries. Jesus once told a parable about a group of full-time workers who compared themselves to part-time workers who received the same wages as themselves. We tell ourselves: If I had his money, I’d be one generous person. If I had her talent, I’d do more with it than that. Oh what I’d do if I had their abilities!

You may remember this sage caution from Sheldon Kopp, “If you have a hero, look again; you have diminished yourself in some way.”

Years ago, in Manchester, England, there lived a factory worker who had a very responsible job. The whistle that marked the beginning and end of the workday was operated by a clock and it was his job to be sure the clock was accurate. Every day he stopped by the window of a clock shop. In the window was a very expensive clock and he set his watch by it. Then he set the factory’s whistle clock by his watch.

The owner noticed him stopping by the window every day and asked him about it. He explained that he set the factory’s clock by that fine clock in the window so that the factory’s whistle would always blow on time. The owner laughed, “All this time I’ve been setting this clock by your factory whistle.”

Do not be misguided. You are God’s expression of a beloved uniqueness that would be lost if you were someone else, somewhere else, somehow else. So let us be thankful that, to God, we are each beyond compare.