Compared to What?

This morning, I am thinking about a commercial I once saw for a particular brand of bleach.  There were two plain, white socks displayed next to each other.  Random passersby were asked to state their opinion as to which sock was whiter.  In each case, the sock deemed whitest had been washed in the bleach product which the commercial intended to promote.  I always wondered, though, if there were individuals who had actually selected the “other” sock, but their opinions had been edited out.  I also wondered what the results might have been if the “other” sock had been compared to yet another sock.  I guess maybe I totally overanalyzed the commercial, but I was struck by something in its composition.  As with other kinds of advertisements, the commercial was carefully scripted to elicit a clear, strong, and favorable response to its product.  It was also set up to make something else, by comparison, appear less favorable.  As I pondered this today, I was convicted about my own complicity in the subjective and deceptive practice of comparing.  I began to reflect on how and why I try to measure myself and my circumstances to the conditions and experiences of others.  Sometimes I judge myself as better or worse, stronger or weaker.  I realize that when I engage in such thinking, I am being manipulated by a powerful script...one that keeps my heart and mind tied to the mediocre in an incessant “win some, lose some” game.  As I prayed, it occurred to me that when I compare myself to others, I am always looking to an imperfect standard.  God’s purposes for me are magnificent, far exceeding the standards imposed upon me by others or even by myself.  Right now, I choose to follow His script in which I am always strong, victorious, beautiful, blessed and highly favored.  Compared to what?  Compared to who and what I would be without Him.  Amen.