The comparison game

A girl I went to elementary school with, according to Facebook, just got back from a honeymoon to Bora Bora, Tahiti and Madeira.

I'll admit, I'm a little jealous. I would love to go to the south Pacific. It looks so gorgeous, but I could never get that much time off work to make such a long trip, and we definitely don't have the money.

We did just book a trip to the Bahamas for next year, though. It doesn't sound quite as cool, but then I thought about it a little bit. If I saw someone post pictures of St. Lucia one year and the Bahamas the next, I would think how lucky they were to get to take those trips and how much money they must have.

We sure don't have a lot of money, but it all depends on who you compare it to. We are incredibly blessed to have the means to go to the Bahamas right now. When we talk about where our parents were when they were first married --- my parents said they pulled their bed into the kitchen of their trailer to sleep by the warm oven --- we are ridiculously well off. Compare ourselves to a lawyer or a doctor or a family with generations of money, and yes, we're poor.

Really, we shouldn't be comparing ourselves at all. God has seen it best to place us right where we are in our lives, and who are we to judge? We should be thankful for every speck and morsel we get from him.

Our pastor talked about this when teaching on the last chapter of John. When Peter found out he would die a martyr's death, he asked "What about John? Isn't John going to die too?"

Jesus told Peter to mind his own business. No, John did not die as a martyr. He was dropped in a pot of boiling oil, but he didn't die. He was exiled to a deserted island and didn't die. He eventually died of old age.

God had a plan for both Peter and John, and who were they to say if it was right or wrong. God had a reason for it and that should be enough.

So next time you're tempted to compare yourself to another, don't. Instead, stop and say "Thank you" that you are right where you are, because there's a reason for it.