Body Image God's Wayናሙና

No Room for Body Comparison

The world around us has a lot to say about our bodies. How big or small they should be, how toned, how tall, how short, the shade of our skin . . . There are a lot of “shoulds” out there and it’s impossible to keep up with them all. 

Whether it’s on social media, at a family gathering, at dinner with our friends, or simply observing another woman in the grocery store, the allure to compare ourselves to the next person is ever-present in our daily lives. 

Sometimes we don’t even realize we’re doing it, especially when it comes to our bodies. We see our glaring insecurities in the mirror and immediately look at someone else to measure our worth. 

I’m so guilty of this. I fix my eyes on her. Her six-pack dancing around on  Instagram only reminds me that mine is hidden under a layer of extra padding. Her newly found size zero reminds me that my size 10 isn’t quite small enough. Her green-smoothies-only-thankyouverymuch makes me question my intent on eating from all the food groups. 

But the truth is that I was not meant to be like her. 

I was meant to be like me. You were meant to be like you. And she was meant to be like herself. 

We could spend a lifetime trying to measure up to the illusion of her, but where would that get us? Nowhere. Except spinning in a cycle of defeat and neglecting our own good bodies that we live in right now. 

I love this declaration from Ephesians 5:26 that says, “We will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.”

What would it feel like to look in the mirror and see yourself as the original that you are? To see that there is no one quite like you, and that that is a good thing. That you have your own uniquely beautiful body unlike anyone else’s. 

Maybe that wouldn’t instantly fix every insecurity that has edged its way into your heart, but maybe for a moment it would help you to see that there is more to you than your body. And that the characteristics that make up your physical body are unique to you. And that your body is hand-crafted by an incredible Creator. And that your body is a gift that carries you through life every day. 

Your right-now body is good, my friend. No one else’s is quite like yours. Now go out and live the life you were called to, without the weight of comparison holding you back.