Look at him, why can’t you be like him?
I don’t care who you are, where you’ve been, or what you’ve done. This statement is not new to you. Whether you were the victim of this statement or the perpetrator, it has been said directly or indirectly to you. Now I know most times, the intended purpose is to make somebody rather than break them, but the truth of the matter is, it encompasses more negativity than it does positivity. Growing up, I wasn’t the best, especially in school. Some may have seen me as just your average class clown, while some who dug deeper saw a boy trying his best to get the most recognition from the next guy. The classroom telephone had my fingerprints and only my fingerprints on it because of how frequently I had to call home about some random act of stupidity I performed. Class got out, and all I could contemplate was the length, color, weight, and taste of the belt that I was about to behold when I stepped in the house. However, physical pain is only temporary. Physical pain is the quickest to recover from. The world offers an infinite array of anecdotes. Physical pain is not the one that sticks. No, there’s a much bigger player – COMPARISON.
Not only do you compare yourself to the people you personally want recognition from, but you also receive pressure from the people others want you to emulate. So, where does that leave you? What is your purpose? If you are not following footsteps where are you going? These are questions that seem to have no end, no result, no solution.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female – he created them.” – Genesis 1:27
Truth is, yeah, maybe we aren’t that man or woman that we continuously get compared to or try to be, but it doesn’t mean that we’ve failed. Doesn’t mean we have no purpose. Doesn’t mean we aren’t valuable. Doesn’t mean we are not beneficial. We were all created in God’s image. Reading that and understanding with the flesh is what sparks confusion, narrow-mindedness and a lack of personal meaning. But reading and understanding with a spiritual attentiveness is when it becomes clear. Yes, in the flesh, if one is made in the same image as another, nothing stands out among them; however in a spiritual sense, there is a distinction among them. They are both made from the same material and crafted in the same way, but the gifts and the exploits each one has to be revealed, comes from his or her own heart and passion. Having two of the same hands does not always produce two of the same crafts. If we were meant to be the man next to us, the things in which we find beauty in would not hold the same value. Do not be led astray by the accomplishments of someone else, yours is yet to be revealed in a way that will be ground-breaking.
