Keith Hawes: 'Comparison is the thief of joy'
Long before social media gave us a regular view into people’s lives, the Apostle Paul warned the Church at Corinth that they should not be comparing themselves to each other. Centuries later, President Theodore Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”
Today, social media enables us to communicate instantly with people worldwide. Grandmothers get to see regularly updated posts of their grandkids. College friends can stay connected after they all move away. The ugly side of social media, however, is how much power we give it.
I was an early adopter of social media. I was on Myspace and was a part of Facebook when it was only for college students. I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, but I was one of several students from my alma mater that requested Facebook open up to our university. The days of primitive profiles are over, and social media sites have progressed to become as populated as nations.
As a minister, I’ve become more concerned about the negative emotional impact social media has on our culture. Regardless of what format one uses, people have allowed it to impact their day and even hold their emotions hostage. We have grown to live in a land that desires likes, shares and comments. True emotional connection has been replaced with emojis. Comparison to each other has become the norm of the day.
The Theodore Roosevelt quote often enters into my mind as I have conversations with people who are struggling with contentment issues. Citing social media posts, many compare their lives to the social media posts of their friends and colleagues. The problem is we compare the behind-the-scenes story of our lives to the highlight reel that social media provides. What we see is the smiling family picture at Disney World. What we don’t see is the bills, toddler breakdowns and fighting among siblings.
If Theodore Roosevelt is correct that comparison steals our joy, maybe we should look deeper into our social media life. When we evaluate the truth in our comparisons, remember we are seeing only one perspective. Think of it like the camera on a laptop for a virtual meeting, it only shows the background you choose it to show. You don’t point the camera at the messy desk or messy floor, and you don’t show people the dirty sink or the mismatched socks.
We only see one perspective when we look at others’ lives, we never really know the whole picture. People’s lives are just as complicated as yours, don’t oversimplify theirs because you can see one perspective on it. So next time you are tempted to compare your life to another person, remember Paul’s words to Corinth, “We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise” (2 Cor. 10:12 NIV).
Keith Hawes is the pastor of Stewart Road Church in Monroe. He can be reached at contact@stewartroad.org.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Keith Hawes: 'Comparison is the thief of joy'
