Scripture:
“Let each one test their own work. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else.”
— Galatians 6:4
I didn’t always notice when comparison crept in.
It rarely announced itself.
It showed up quietly—while scrolling, while listening, while sitting in a room where everyone seemed confident, ahead, or certain. It slipped into moments that should have been neutral and turned them heavy.
Suddenly, someone else’s progress made me question my own.
Someone else’s timeline made mine feel delayed.
Someone else’s confidence made me wonder if I was missing something.
Looking back especially to my first year in medical school – I realize I was very insecure about my performance and had a unnecessary need to prove my intelligence to come off confident.
What made it harder was that nothing was actually wrong with my path. I just started measuring it against someone else’s.
Galatians speaks to this so gently, yet so directly. Paul doesn’t deny that we notice one another. He doesn’t pretend comparison isn’t tempting. Instead, he redirects our attention—away from others, and back to what God has entrusted to us.
“Test your own work.”
That word own matters.
Because comparison doesn’t just steal joy—it blurs responsibility. It distracts us from the very thing God is shaping in us by pulling our focus toward what He is doing in someone else.
I’ve learned that comparison often disguises itself as motivation, but it rarely produces peace. It creates urgency where God is inviting patience. It creates pressure where God is cultivating depth.
And the truth is, God never asked me to carry someone else’s calling, pace, or process. He asked me to be faithful with mine. Regardless of what it looks like. You not be in medical school yet, or the residency program/location of your choice or great MCAT score – whatever it may be. But that’s your story and that’s the one that God is calling you to steward not looking to the left or to the right.
Comparison is distraction.
There is strength in staying present to the work God has placed in front of you today. Strength in resisting the urge to constantly look sideways. Strength in trusting that your path—though different—is still purposeful.
Today, I’m reminded that comparison fades when obedience becomes personal again. When I bring my focus back to God and ask, What are You teaching me here? the noise quiets. And clarity returns.
Your journey does not need to resemble anyone else’s to be meaningful. It only needs to be faithful.
Reflection
Where has comparison quietly crept into your thoughts?
What might change if you redirected that energy toward what God is forming in you?
Prayer
God, help me release the habit of measuring myself against others. Teach me to stay present to the work You’ve given me and to trust that my journey is not lacking—it is intentional. Guard my heart from distraction, and help me walk in obedience with peace and confidence. Amen.
Carry This With You Today
Your calling doesn’t require comparison to be valid.