Do you ever find yourself stuck in the comparison trap?
Speaker and author Richella Parham knows what this feels like. "I couldn't break free from admiring one person's achievements, someone else's personality, another's skills, yet another's relationships. And don't get me started on how I looked at other people's appearances," she writes. "I was haunted by the admirable attributes of other people, certain that I could never match their worthiness. No matter how well-intentioned the teaching or pithy the advice, I found that most of it didn't help me change my thoughts, feelings, or actions."
While there are no easy answers, Parham has identified cultural and spiritual myths about others, God, and ourselves that keep us trapped. From there the journey is a spiritual one. We can pick up practices that help us walk in the freedom of Christ with confidence in ourselves. If you've ever suffered from tortured moments of comparison on Facebook, in the office, or in the hallway at church, you'll benefit from this fresh perspective.
"Have you wrestled with the thought, I wish I could be more like . . . ? In this beautifully written, deeply personal, much-needed book, Richella Parham plumbs the depths of one of the most subtle, soul-deadening practices of our age: constantly comparing ourselves with others. In an age of compulsive comparison disorder, this book is a must-read. If you feel stuck in the steel trap of comparison and long not only for freedom but for a way to embrace the fearfully and wonderfully made person God has created you to be, this is the book for you."
James Bryan Smith, author of The Good and Beautiful God
"It's so easy to say, 'Don't compare yourself to other people,' but how do you practically live out that simple advice? How do you let go of the exhausting experience of thinking you have to be better than the parade of perfect people online? How do you let go of the mythical me who never makes mistakes? Richella has done the hard work of answering those questions and many more in a beautiful quest to wrestle comparison to the ground. I needed this wonderful book, and if comparison has ever prevented you from experiencing the joy of your own life, you might too."
Jon Acuff, author of Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done
"For years I've been teaching people that things don't have to be perfect to be beautiful. That applies to people too, but often we allow our lack of perfection to cripple us, never realizing the beauty we possess as beloved children of God. We end up comparing ourselves to each other relentlessly, looking for the security that could already be ours if we learned to embrace the love of God and one another. In sharing her own struggles and the wisdom she's discovered, Richella points the way out of the comparison trap."
