Compare Yourself to Jesus…and Be Content

Comparison is the enemy of contentment. That’s been pretty clear in my own life and the lives of others whom I know. It’s also been that which I’ve conveyed to others while counseling them. Imagine then how startled I was to read the following sentence in Thomas Watson’s, The Art of Divine Contentment, “Let us compare our condition with others, and this will make us content.” What?! How can that be? Then I calmed down and read the next sentence, “We look at those who are above us; let us look at those who are below us.” In other words, we naturally compare ourselves to those above us (intellectual powers, physique, situation in life, etc.) and this breeds discontentment. But, Watson says, if we instead choose to compare our situation to those below us (those less fortunate) we will most likely realize how good we have it.