Living Free of Holiday Envy

I was checking out my Facebook posts and feeling a little bit left out. It seemed everyone was having a big ole time with family and friends, and well, I wasn’t. It was the holiday season and it appeared all the family gatherings were picture perfect…and mine wasn’t.

Pinterest postings of perfect sausage pinwheels. Facebook pics of glittery table setting with Christmas China and matching napkins. Instagram reels of happy families decorating a freshly cut tree. A passel of grandparents, parents, and kiddos dressed in matching Christmas pajamas. And you’re thinking, good for them, kindda.

And don’t get me started on Christmas letters—highlight reels that don’t show the part of the story left on the cutting room floor for no one to see.

Social media accentuates the culture of comparison by sending the false message that your monotonous tedious boring existence is a poor excuse for living compared to others whose lives are awesomely exciting all the time.

Social media breeds instant comparison at the click of a button. Comparing who has more “Facebook friends,” “re-tweets,” “followers” and “re-pins” is maddening. The age-old comparisons of appearance, accomplishments, possessions, and position are still around. Technology has simply magnified the access to other people’s lives, even though you’re only seeing what others want you to see. And I’m not talking about just the holidays, but the every days.

Comparison is the devil’s tool that he uses to undermine our confidence and kill our contentment like nothing ever will. It magnifies insecurities and fosters a self-absorbed pre-occupation of our inadequacies.

Comparison sullies the canvas upon which God longs to display His greatest work. Nothing will rob you of your confidence in Christ like comparison. The measuring stick will get you stuck every time.

I love what Jesus said when Peter asked about John’s future. (Yes, he was comparing his future with John’s) “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21:22) In other words, “It’s none of your business! Stop comparing!”

I also love what Paul told the Galatians: “Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else” (Galatians 6:4 NLT). In other words, do your best and don’t worry about what someone else is doing or not doing.

So, this Christmas season, resist the tendency to compare your holiday celebration to what you see of others’. They’re a mess just like you are…like I am.

Heavenly Father, help me not to compare my holiday celebration with others’. Christmas is not about the glitter but Your glory, not the parties but the Person of Jesus, not the presents but Your presence. Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Let’s make a promise to each other right now. If you’re willing, leave a comment and say, “This holiday season I will live in a comparison-free and envy-free zone.”

Digging Deeper

Enough by Sharon Jaynes

Do the voices in your head tell you that you are not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, or just notenough, period? If so, it’s time to stop listening to the lies that sabotage your confidence and replace them with truth. Check out my book, Enough: Silencing the Lies that Steal Your Confidence and start believing the truth about who God says you are.