To Whom Do Perfect Parents Compare Their Kids?

Sunday in our message on the Comparison Trap we looked at the most common way Jesus described God to humanity: our Heavenly Father. God wants to interact with us as a loving, perfect, heavenly father. Galatians 4:4 says that because of the Holy Spirit inside of us, we can even refer to God as our “Daddy,” our “Abba Father.”

If we can ever truly embrace this relationship with God as our perfect Heavenly Father, our Daddy, it will help us get out and stay out of the comparison trap for good. Here’s why:

• To whom do perfect parents compare their kids? No one. A perfect father loves his child simply for who they are. When parents do compare their kids, that doesn’t show that something’s wrong with the kids. It shows that there’s something wrong with the parents.
• So as a perfect, loving, Heavenly Father, to whom does God compare you? To whom does your Abba Daddy compare you? No one. Before God formed you in the womb He knew you (Jeremiah 1:5). You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). God made you exactly how He wanted to.
• So whose estimation of you should you embrace? Yours, or your Heavenly Daddy’s? Your Heavenly Father’s. Comparison to others should never be a trap for you, because you’re made in the beautiful image of your Heavenly Daddy.

If you’re a parent, you do this all the time with your own kids. If they doubt themselves or don’t think they’re worthwhile because that boy doesn’t like her or he didn’t make that team, what do you tell them? “If you could just see yourself through my eyes! Don’t listen to everyone else. If you could just see you how I see you, you’d realize how incredibly smart, and funny, and kind, and beautiful you really are. If you could just see yourself through my eyes!”

That is what our Heavenly Daddy is trying to get us to do: if we could just see ourselves through His eyes! If we would just stop listening the world, stop comparing ourselves to our friends, stop trying to find validation and worth in how much we own or how successful we are, if we could just see ourselves through His eyes, we’d know. We would know that we never have to do anything, or accomplish anything, or be smarter or prettier or richer than anyone to earn God’s love for us. He loves us simply because we’re His. When you’re tempted to look to the right or to the left to tell you that you’re okay, look up. Look up at your Heavenly Daddy, and here’s what you’ll hear Him saying: You’re fine because you’re mine.