Comparisons are Oderous

When the Rabbi Zusya lay dying on his deathbed, a beloved and kind man, he was agitated about dying. One of his students asked him why he feared death, seeing he was a righteous man. Zusya answered, "My son, I am not worried that God will ask me, Zusya, why weren't you more like Moses? Because I am not Moses. I am worried that God will ask, Zusya, why weren't you more like Zusya?"

Comparisons are oderous at the best of times. If I compare myself to another and I am better than them, it feeds my ego. If I compare myself to another and I am worse than them ... it feeds my ego. It is enough for me to discover what it is to be Sue and take my identity from Jesus rather than from other people. It is enough for others to do the same. It is enough for me to go about the business of becoming more Sue, and owning whatever that entails, without wasting excessive energy on what other people think of me. If I compare myself with others, it takes the focus off my journey and what God is wanting to teach me; it will make me want to jump ahead from where I actually am. It will mean that all the things that are right here right now in this life, I will try to skip over. And these are the things that are for my learning.

That's what I be thinking this morning, anyway :)