the thief of joy

comparison is a thief of joy.

there's always a person thats prettier, nicer, funnier, skinnier. someone who is always better at something than you are. and i think a lot of the time we focus on those things instead of what we ourselves have. these comparisons can steal our focus/mind set of Christ, they can steal our ability to love (especially when we are envious of others) and they can steal our joy. i have definitely let comparing myself to others steal all of these things from me. i think it's human nature. the world tells us that we need to be a certain way in order to "fit in" to society. girls have the pressure of being skinny, tan, wear revealing clothing. boys have to be macho, tough, muscular. the world views the outside-our appearence, the clothes we were, the car we have, our house size-all of these things add together to put us where we stand amoung our society according to the world.

the bible study i am in took a few weeks to study a little bit of 1 Samuel. We went through a some verses and one in particular stood out to me.
1 samuel 16:7- "But the Lord said to Samuel "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for i have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart." 
This verse stuck out to me because it so clearly shows that we were not made to look at the outward appearance of a person. we were not made to put people into certain classes based on their appearance or what they have. the Lord looks at our hearts. we were made to look at the hearts of others.

so i go back to my first sentence-comparison is a thief of joy. what's the solution? how can we not fall into the worldy trap of comparing ourselves? i've come to the conclusion of a few answers. 1) pray. whatever it may be that your struggling with. who would be a better person to share that with than your Creator? 2) read His word. the lies of this world that fill our heads can be so overwhelming and stressful. however, the truths in scripture show us that we are loved, beautiful, destined, free, chosen, understood, confident, and alive in Christ.3) celebrate those who you are jealous of. (i know that sounds wierd, but i read it in a blog post from a yl leader-thats also were i got the quote comparison is a thief of joy-and it made so much sense). how can we be envious of someone when we are celebrating them or when we are praying for them?

how can comparison steal my joy when i am reading scripture about who i am in Christ, or when i am praying or when i am celebrating the person i am comparing myself to? the Lord is good. all of the time. He loves us and is always with us-even in the midst of our comparison to one another-he's wispering in our ear "you're fearfully and wonderfully made.  you're loved. I created you exactly how I wanted you to be. you're loved."