Comparisons

Comparisons can be a good thing or a bad thing. It all depends on who we are comparing ourselves to and what the purpose is for making comparisons. For example on Christmas morning my husband and I both took photos around sunrise at a nearby beach. I thought mine looked pretty good.

I was pleased with it, until... until I looked at his which looked just spectacular. I wanted to show you his stunning photo but for some reason the blog doesn't want to take it, without you having to stand on your head to look at it.. So here is a different one instead, not as effective but still pretty sky.  

Of course there are several explainable reasons for the difference. Firstly mine was just taken on my inexpensive mobile phone camera, while his was taken on a proper camera. You’d expect given better equipment, the results would be better. Also I’m really just a hack when it comes to photos. I snap them for my own amusement and have been known to have thumb in shot or horizons that aren’t straight. He is much more accomplished.

We can do it in our writing too. We can compare ourselves with other writers and think, ‘Oh I’m not doing very well. They’ve got heaps of books out. I’ve only got one or two.’  Years ago when I made a comment along that I had only published one book, my then teenage daughter replied, 'and that’s more than some people will ever have. ' That’s what I call a smart daughter.  She made me stop and re-evaluate the situation.

So I may not have written a row of best sellers but I have had several books of different types published. What’s more people have read them, enjoyed them and responded to them.  Only this week someone came across one of my poems and contacted me about it. After I responded she has since bought Kaleidoscope my book of poetry.

Of course I might just as easily compare myself to someone else I heard talking the other day. She’s been working on a manuscript for years but still hasn't even got half way, isn’t sure she wants to write the rest or of she will ever finish it.

It’s easy to do in church too, to compare ourselves with others. A friend of mine often says, ‘I could never stand up the front and lead the singing like you do.’ I can because God has called me to it and it is easy to do something I love doing. I love worshiping God in song and encouraging other s to do the same. I also love being on the roster for bible reading. But to do some of the other jobs in the church like welcoming - I would run a mile or should that be two kilometres? The same with jobs that require technical expertise like sound or projector. I am not the person to ask. Fortunately anyone who knows me knows better than to ask. If there is a wrong button to press you can be sure I will find it.

That’s what Paul was on about in his letter to the Corinthians about working together. Not expecting one person to have all the gifts but to work together. Not comparing ourselves with others but accepting that we are each different and have different gifts.

Coming back to writing though for just a moment, comparisons are not always bad. They can be good when we read the work of an author and then analyse why it works or why it doesn’t. Then it is a useful comparison, because there is a point to it. It’s not that you’re trying to write like that person but more that we need to keep learning from other writers as well as our own writing, to know what works and what doesn’t.  Have you read anything recently that has made you re-evaluate the way you craft a story, show a scene, write dialogue, explain a bible passage or anything else you found helpful? It would be great if you could share it here so we can all benefit.