2 Corinthians 10:12
“For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”
When I was in high school, I worked at a paper factory that often used scales to weigh the bundles of paper to determine whether we had enough paper in each bundle. On the scale was a certificate that certified the accuracy of the scales. Once a year a government agency would come in with their weights to be sure the scales were accurate so that customers were getting for what they paid.
In my childhood home, we had a piano that my mother would play. I remember watching a man tune our piano. He used an instrument that measured the pitch of each key to make sure that the piano was in tune. It would be easy to try and tune the piano by ear, but the comparison would not be an accurate comparison.
In the verse above, we are told that there are some things that are unwise for us to do to determine our spirituality. He said there were some who compared themselves to others to determine their spirituality. Then there were others who commended themselves for their spirituality because they used others to determine their accomplishments. In both cases the determination of these things were false measurements.
You cannot measure spirituality by comparing yourself to others. First, you don’t know how much others have grown. Just because you may be more separated from the world than another person does not mean that you are more spiritual than they. For instance, I grew up in a Christian home. When I got saved, I was not living in a home where vices were present and where worldly living was a way of life. I grew up in a home where we went to church every service. When I got saved I didn’t have to go far to “look” like a good Christian, whereas someone saved out of a wicked life would have to grow tremendously to get to the same level. Yet, for one to be saved out of a wicked life and to be close to where I was when I got saved means they had to grow more than I did just to get to where I started. In all reality they are the better Christian than I am because they’ve grown more than I have. This is why it’s unwise to measure yourself with others.
Likewise, it’s unwise to measure your accomplishments with the accomplishments of others. A younger person should accomplish more than an older person because they have more energy. God has blessed some people with more talents than others, and to measure your accomplishments with someone who has less talents is unwise, for you should accomplish more than they.
You should only compare your spirituality and accomplishments with whether or not you have done your best with what God expects from you. Stop comparing yourself to others, and ask yourself if you have grown and accomplished what you should to your best capability. It’s not how you compare to others, but how you compare to what God expects from you. When you start comparing yourself to God’s expectations for yourself, you will find that you still have much more to accomplish. My question to you is this, are you doing the best that you can do? This is the question you need to ask yourself on a daily basis.