Written by: Danielle Sanders
I Corinthians 15:40-41 (NKJV) – [There are] also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial [is] one, and the [glory] of the terrestrial [is] another. [There is] one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for [one] star differs from [another] star in glory.
Have you ever compared yourself to another and found yourself lacking? When I was a middle school teacher, I observed on many occasions the behavior of girls who felt threatened by other, “prettier” girls. No matter how uniquely beautiful each girl was, when the superstar walked in, it was as though she had sucked all of the pretty out of the room, leaving the others feeling bereft and ugly.
As a singer, I used to have a similar reaction when I heard someone sing with what I considered to be better technique or a “prettier” tonal quality than mine. I would become like my middle schoolers: despondent and extremely critical of myself. This all changed one day as I was preparing to go onstage to sing. The Lord whispered to me, “You have a glory all your own, so sing with all your glory.” In an instant, I understood a truth that set me free forever: Every created thing has its own glory, and there’s no such thing as bad glory!
A lion ruling the Serengeti has one glory; a great white shark dominating the deep has another. No one would say the glory of the Monarch butterfly is inferior to that of the Sunsprite rose. Each has its own glory— different in type, but not in quality. It’s the same for humankind. We are unique individuals created by God with different functions, gifts, and callings, and not one is superior or inferior to the other. Yet how many times have we compared ourselves to others and walked away feeling disadvantaged, not recognizing that each of us is a unique reflection of God’s very own glorious image? How silly it is to admire God’s glory in another person while disparaging His glory in oneself.
As the scripture says, there is one glory of the sun and another glory of the moon. Likewise, there is one glory of me and another of you. And all the glory is of God!