Don't Compare Yourself With Others
Vanity by Frank Cadogen Cowper
"Vanities of vanities, says the preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity."
Ecclesiastes 1:2
At first glance you see a pretty, young girl. She is wealthy and fashionable -- dripping in pearls. A jewel across her forehead cannot be missed. The brocade on her sleeves is prominent as is her large regal hat in royal colors. She has soft, fair skin without blemish and healthy color in her lips and cheeks. There is an unmistakable beauty here juxtaposed with vanity.
She is not looking at you and I. She looks down upon us. Her face has a look of independence. In her hand is a mirror -- a hand mirror used for looking at your own face. She has no warm greeting for us. Her lips are tight -- not speaking. Her face and eyes express a proud, superior heart.
Pride is a state of being in comparison with others and always coming out the best. Her prideful heart sees that she is better than us. She reasons she is prettier than us, wealthier than us, more fashionable than us, maybe even smarter than us and therefore looks down.
Are you looking down at the people God has put you with? Are you better looking? Are you smarter? Are you of a better family? Your good looks, keen intellect, and family are all gifts from God. When you start to think you had anything to do with getting them you cross over to having what the Bible refers to as a haughty or proud spirit.
A vanity is something that is futile or useless. "Everything in the world -- the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has or does -- comes not from the Father but from the world." 1 John 2:16
We didn't bring a thing into this world on our own, nor will we take anything with us. Recognize that all we are and own have come from God and are ours to use in blessing Him and others. Don't compare yourself with others but see that God's gifts to you and to them are meant to compliment each other and make this world a paradise on earth.