why comparing ourselves to others is a bad idea

The story is told of Rabbi Zuscha, who on his deathbed was asked what he thought the kingdom of God would be like. The old rabbi thought for a time and then he said, “I don’t really know; but one thing I do know: When I get there I am not going to be asked, “why weren’t you Moses?”, or “why weren’t you David?”. I am going to be asked, “Why weren’t you Zuscha?”

source: Centering Prayer, by Basil Pennington.

Why do we try to copy others, when we are in fact unique creations? When we give up the need to compare ourselves to others, we begin to discover who we really are; the bad we work on, and the good we rejoice in.

A sermon given at Providence UMC on 1. 23. 05 explored this idea in more detail, and can be accessed at www.providenceumc.org.