It's quite natural to compare another culture with your own when you're living away from home. I remember noticing quite distinct differences between Haiti and Australia when I first moved to Haiti a year ago. Those comparisons are few and far between now. On the weekend my colleague Carol, and I drove through Delmas on our way to the beach. I commented how "normal" my surroundings had become. The "culture shock" didn't seem to be there; the dusty streets often lined with trash, the free-spirited drivers, the people traffic, the concrete buildings, roaming goats, market vendors... all of it was almost "normal". I thought about the idea of my family coming to visit Haiti for the first time; what would their first impressions be?
It's so natural for us to compare. Sometimes we walk away feeling like "top dogs" and other times we walk away feeling a lot less than that; it just depends on who and what you're comparing yourself too.
Why do we compare ourselves to others? Is it to feel better about ourselves by reveling in the misfortune of others? We have explored these ideas at house church over the past 3 weeks and I'm learning that ALL people of every race and culture fall into the trap of "comparison".
We compare; our jobs, our finances, our fashion, our physical appearance, our marital status, our possessions, our personalities, our popularity, our relationships, our skills, our talents... and the list goes on and on....
Could it be that every person wants acceptance and approval? We want to know that we're okay?
It's no different in Haiti. People living in poverty often feel ashamed or worthless. What do they have to offer anyone? Many are waiting for the opportunity to "become somebody".... but "somebody" in the eyes of WHO? Whether living in Haiti or Australia, this striving to make it is everywhere. Are we ever content?
I'm not discouraging people from pursuing their dreams and goals, so long as it's not to prove your worth. Even I don't fully understand my value... but I do know that I shouldn't let imperfect people (like myself) determine my value. Imperfect "me" should not determine my value either... my Creator does. Achieving the standards I set for my life or falling short of these standards, does not determine my worth. The only standard we should measure ourself against is God's standard. His standard of perfection is impossible without Jesus. Good news is that we are blameless before God if we are trusting in Christ's death and resurrection to save us from our imperfections.
What matters most is what we do with the life we've been given. Every day we have the opportunity to do the best with what we have! God, our Creator, expects us to do our best with what he has entrusted to us. To complain about what we have or don't have is to say that what God has given me is worthless. What you have is far less important than what you do with what you have.
So make the most of what you have been given, to be a blessing to others!!
(I feel like I'm writing this blog post to myself... I too often am caught in the trap of comparison)
*This blog post was instigated by a series of messages by Andy Stanley titled "The Comparison Trap"
