From times immemorial it has been a tradition to compare between different persons on the basis of their thoughts and deeds. Some compare themselves for self-improvement; others compare measuring their possession in terms of what others have.
Some feel that they are imperfect or poor or miserable; and sadness grips their soul. It is the comparison mindset that kills one’s happiness if one constantly judges oneself negatively by looking at others; that one is not rich enough; especially, when one sees one’s friends or relatives partying and eating out at fancy places and having fun all the time. It makes one lose faith in one’s worth with feelings of inferiority and one can even make oneself incapable of study or unable to do the day to day work, because of being depressed.
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In the Biblical parable of the workers in the vineyard, a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard, agreed to pay them a denarius for the day. Then he employed some workers about the third, sixth, ninth and eleventh hour to work in his vineyard. And when evening came, the owner paid all of them the same wages. The labourers who came earlier during the day expected more salary than those who came later; but as all of them received a denarius, they grumbled against the landowner due to comparison, saying, “These men who were hired last, worked only for one hour and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.” The landlord said, “Do I not have the right to do as I please with my money? Or are you envious because I am generous.” (Mt. 20: 12-15).
Comparing mindset kills one’s happiness. We forget to see what God has given us and do not remember to thank Him. We have to count our blessings like the man who felt sad because he had no shoes until he met a man who had no feet. He said to himself, ‘I can at least one day earn and wear shoes but this man even if he gets sufficient money, he can never wear shoes because he does not have feet.
All things that are in this world are given by God to us. For some it is more for others it is less, according to His judgement. Therefore, some are poor and some rich; some are dumb, some are deaf. His weighing scale has not tilted. It is His decision. What He has given others yesterday may be yours tomorrow. So, it is useless to compare and cry. One has to be satisfied with what one has. Every person is unique having one’s own set of skills, talents and wealth.
The life on this earth is temporary. We know it; but we do not care, we live on this earth as pleasure seeking generation — heartless, selfish. We abuse the resources of nature and go against the purpose of creation. We roam the world round inflating our chest; we fly high as much as we can, thinking that we are God. But after we receive the call from the Creator, we rest on the shoulders of men and go in the grave.
We have to be sensible and have faith in God by giving to God what belongs to God and to your neighbour what belongs to the fellow citizen; for what it is given to your neighbour today may be yours tomorrow. One has to be happy with what one has today.
