Theodore Roosevelt reportedly described comparison as ‘the thief of all joy’. He certainly has a point. If you constantly compare yourself to others it will rob you of the joy you might otherwise have experienced in what you have and the joy in what they have. And a joyless life, pickpocketed by comparing, is a barren life.

Having said that, I’d like to start further back, and with a statement that might surprise you. And that is, you will never know real joy until you have compared yourself to another. That Other being the Incomparable God.

In Psalm 40, David contemplates God’s work in his life. God has done things for David that puts a new song in his mouth (v3). As he ponders God pulling him out of a metaphorical pit, and setting his feet upon a metaphorical rock, a new melody begins to bubble up in David’s heart. Lyrics take form in his mind. His foot starts tapping to the beat and he finds himself singing a song neither he, nor anyone else, has sung before.

But he doesn’t stop there. He goes on to think about God’s deeds and thoughts, not just to himself, David, but to all of God’s people. And as he does he realises, ’None can compare with you’ (v5). There simply is no one else who acts towards and thinks about his people the way God does. 

What’s David doing? He’s comparing God to others: to himself and everyone else. And his conclusion? No one compares to God.

But what’s the result of making that comparison? Wonder! God’s deeds and thoughts are ‘wondrous’ (v5)! And as a result David feels the urge to draw others into his delight: ‘I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told’ (v5).

Silence can speak volumes, can’t it? And when our hearts are silent, when there’s no praise or proclamation bubbling up, it says something about the state of our hearts. And one of the things it says is, we’re not doing enough comparing… of God to ourselves and to everyone else. 

So, if your heart is dry and silent, begin the comparison game. Not you to others, but God to you and everyone else. Ponder how much greater, and wondrous, his deeds and thoughts are towards you than your own. Meditate on all he has done for you in Christ - tht the Son of God would lay down his life for you - and maybe your foot will start tapping with David’s and your tongue be loosed like his.