My brother and I have always been a little competitive, which is a little bit silly.  Growing up, he was five years older than me (still is, by the way), which means that he could beat me in just about everything simply because he was 10 inches taller and 40 lbs. heavier.  Besides that, he was just better at things than I was.  At least most things.

He was the captain of his high school basketball team. He was valedictorian of his class. He won the "Mr. High School" award. Me? I was his squirrelly little brother - and he did nothing to boost my esteem.

He would make me play nerf hoop with him in the family room. We'd play to 20 by twos, and he would give me a 16-point lead. Most games he won 20-16. Then he would make me play again. I did not have a happy nerf hoop childhood.

Once when we were kids we decided to have a bike race. He had a nice 26" Schwinn bike; I had a 24" Sears bike (exactly like the picture). But we knew those two extra inches on his bike would only add to his advantage. So we traded bikes - even though his was actually just a little too tall for me to sit on the seat. He probably gave me some sort of head start, though I don't honestly remember.

What I do remember was coming around the corner going too fast and losing control of the bicycle. I wiped out and ended up sprawled out in the bushes, bike on top of me. At that point in the race my brother was behind me - watching his very nice Schwinn getting scratched up on the pavement. His mouth opened as he stared in disbelief, but in that moment he took his eyes off the "road" and lost control of his bike (which was actually my bike), too. He slid across the pavement and ended up in another nearby bush a few feet away.

Neither of us was hurt, and since my bush was closer to the finish line, I claimed the win. One of few. But the story suggests a few thoughts to consider.

1. Life doesn't need to be a competition. I ended up in a bush because I was trying to prove something - to myself and to my brother. How often do we find ourselves validating ourselves by comparison or contrast to others? It's a dangerous game. And unnecessary.

2. Constantly looking at the status of others jeopardizes your own. My brother ended up in a bush because he was more worried about me (actually, his bike) than he was about minding himself. We all would be wise to worry more about ourselves and less about others. We have enough challenges of our own.

3. Just pedal your own race. I eventually learned that I was never going to be better than my brother at a lot of things. So I found other things where I could excel - like drama and soccer and running and writing and home improvement. But the point? I am not my brother. God has given me an entirely different gift set. Same for you.

We can struggle so much with the issue of comparison, especially when it comes to siblings. Sibling rivalry is a real thing that does real and sometimes lasting damage. But God didn't make you any better or worse than your brothers or sisters - just different. And that's a good thing.

In 2 Corinthians 10:12 Paul points out the foolishness of comparing ourselves to others. He writes:

¹² We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.

He was rebuking the Corinthian Christians who were evaluating their spirituality by comparing themselves to others.  The situation is a little different, but the point is still the same.  Using someone else as a measuring stick is foolish.  The real measuring stick?  Who God made you to be!