Mirror, Mirror

“Mirror, mirror on the wall…”

I am sure that you can guess where this is going!

“…who is the fairest of them all?”

Yes, straight from the pages of the Fairy Tale, Snow White. In this tale we find a beautiful woman, a Queen no less, daily asking the question of a magic mirror and on a slippery slope that will destroy her. Her happiness in life is wrapped up, not just in her beauty but how her beauty compares to others. When she is the most beautiful in the land, she is happy, and when she discovers she is not, she does all she can to destroy the more beautiful Snow White.

It’s definitely the stuff of Fairy Tales, and of course ends happily for Snow White, and not so happily for the Queen! But this scenario plays out time and time again in the world today. So if there is anything that we can learn from Snow White, (other than don’t eat the apple!), it is that comparison is destructive.

Comparison is a two sided coin. On the one hand it can leave us feeling proud and superior, while on the other it can leave us feeling insecure, plagued by envy and jealousy. When we place our identity in how we compare to those around us – with our looks, money, profession, in fact in any aspect of life, we will live our lives continually asking the question, “am I the fairest of them all?” When our identity is placed in anything or anyone else other than God we will easily be shaken. We will inevitably spend our lives comparing ourselves to others and our happiness will fluctuate based on how we think we measure up. If we are the “fairest” we will temporarily feel happy, until the situation changes, and it will change…someone comes across our path better, brighter. Our culture is full of making comparisons in our looks, personality, worth, what we have and do not have.

We have a choice as to where we place our security, our confidence. We can place it in how we think we compare to others or in God. God doesn’t compare us to others. His love doesn’t come in a ranked order. When our identity is in God, we will not be shaken and can live secure lives.

I love the words of the song – “My Life is in you Lord.” I think it sums it up perfectly.

My Life is in you Lord,

My Strength is in you Lord,

My hope is in your Lord,

In you, it’s in you”

No need for a magic mirror when you have God!