Huwag kayong gumawa ng anuman dahil sa paghahangad ninyong maging tanyag; sa halip, bilang tanda ng pagpapakumbaba, ituring ninyong higit ang iba kaysa inyong mga sarili.

Mga Taga-Filipos 2:3

Have you ever looked at someone and said, “Buti pa siya, sikat. Buti pa siya, blessed. Buti pa siya, lumaki sa mayamang pamilya”?

When we are lacking in a certain area in our life — money, beauty, career, lovelife — prone tayong tumingin sa iba at mag-compare. Most of the time, we would find ourselves looking at other people’s lives and pointing out everything they have that we don’t.

Comparison is a trap we wouldn’t want to be in. Minsan, nag-uumpisa ito sa admiration, but it can quickly turn to insecurity, jealousy, envy, and self-doubt. Feeling natin ay ’di tayo enough because someone else has something better.

Ang totoo niyan, there will always be someone better than us. Kaya naman, God’s Word in Philippians 2:3 gives us the weapon to fight against comparison. Para hindi tayo ma-trap sa endless hamster wheel of comparing our lives with another, God commands us to be humble.

Humility is not about being a doormat and thinking that we are not important. Sa pagiging mapagpakumbaba, nire-recognize at sine-celebrate natin na lahat tayo ay valuable sa mata ng Panginoon and He has given us different skills, talents, and physical qualities.

It’s OK if someone else is better. Peter wasn’t John. Martha wasn’t Mary. Joshua wasn’t Moses. And yet, lahat sila ay ginamit ng Panginoon in powerful and unique ways. The same is true for us. We each have a race to run, a calling, and a role in God’s plan and story.