Killing ComparisonSample

When I was on my journey to getting free from toxic comparison, God drew my attention to the life of Jonathan, King Saul's son and David's best friend, as a case study in healthy identity. I had honestly never studied him in any deep way; I saw him as a supporting character in the story of David, but not as someone to learn from. Yet, the more I studied the story of Saul and David, I realized that the real hero of the story was Jonathan. Here's why.

Our focus verse 1 Samuel 18:4 says:

"Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt."

Although Saul gets the headlines for acting out and behaving poorly from the belief that David was a threat to his kingdom, the truth is that David wasn't a threat to Saul because Saul was already King. In truth, David was a threat to Jonathan because, if the people wanted David to be king, it would have been after Saul died. Yet, look at how Jonathan responds to David returning from battle victorious. Instead of feeling threatened by David's success, he celebrated David's success. He gave David his royal robe and weapons. And this is the key to living free from comparison.

Killing toxic comparison requires celebrating others. You aren't in competition with someone you are rooting to win! You aren't threatened by someone you are celebrating. And this is why Jonathan was able to live with joy and peace as the people celebrated David. Jonathan didn't secure his identity to being the future king. He secured his identity to being who God said he was at that moment. And, at that moment, he was the son of the King. He was a servant of God. And he was David's friend.

Jonathan knew a truth that many of us forget. No man or woman is a threat to the purpose God has placed within you. You don't have to measure yourself against someone else because there is no comparison. Their purpose is unique. God doesn't create duplicates or extras, so stand firm in who you are and reject the lie that you aren't good enough. It's time to live free from comparison!

Go deeper in this study by ordering your own copy of Killing Comparison today!