Confession and Self-Examination: Chrysostom on Not Comparing Yourself to Others

John Chrysostom taught that one of the greatest obstacles to honest self-examination is the habit of comparing ourselves to others. He preached: "When you look at another's sins, you see nothing but what is in him; but when you look at your own, you see things differently. Do not compare your virtue with another's vice, but compare your virtue with virtue itself." Chrysostom knew that comparison always distorts -- it either inflates us ("I am better than him") or deflates us ("I can never be like her").

Chrysostom counseled: "Let each person examine his own work. What does it matter to you how another person prays or fasts or gives? You are called to your own race, your own calling, your own faithfulness." Self-examination done rightly is always personal, never comparative.

Practical application: For one week, catch yourself every time you compare your spiritual life to someone else's. Replace the comparison with a simple question: "Lord, what do You want from me today?" Chrysostom teaches that the only relevant standard is not the person next to you but the person God is calling you to become.