The Burden of Better: Living a Comparison-Free LifeSample

When our family visited the Grand Canyon, my travel-weary preteens were unimpressed. “Yeah, it’s a giant hole in the ground.” They griped.

There’s magnificent beauty in this natural wonder, but my children couldn’t see it. They saw what was missing instead of what was there.

Most of us are acutely aware of the space between who we are and who we want to be. We see what’s missing. We want to be better—but the gap feels unsurpassable.

A nagging voice tells us happiness awaits on the other side of that great divide—if only we could bridge the gap. This belief drives our comparison, fuels our striving, and may even motivate us to be healthier, work harder, finish school, you name it.

The problem is that the “better” place we believe we should reach is very much the same as the land on this side of the canyon. You can take the tour bus around the whole south rim of the Grand Canyon, and though the view may be different, you’re still staring at the same hole.

Some believe they’ve found a way to bridge the chasm to their ideal self. They’ve set weight loss or business goals and met them. But, when they reach the other side, they still feel dissatisfied. Contentment eludes them. This has happened to me more times than I care to confess while on my quest for self-improvement.

That chasm we all feel, God put that inside us. It’s a longing, a desire for something greater. This holy dissatisfaction draws us to God to find satisfaction in him alone. Trying to bridge this chasm by becoming more “ideal” never satisfies because the gap we need to fill isn’t between an earthly idea of perfection and ourselves; it’s between a perfect God and us. The only way to span that gap is with grace.

This may sound over-simplified to you. But stick with me, friend. Grace’s borders extend far beyond our worship song lyrics; its abyss is deeper than our imaginations can dive. God’s magnificent grace intermingles every minute of our daily lives. And, once we can see with new eyes the miracle of grace, we’ll be able to stop comparing and start living.