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Book Review: Comparison Girl

Comparison is a disease that infects all of us at one time or another in varying degrees. It's one of the Enemy's tools and strategies for making us stumble and sin and keeping us from being useful and fruitful for the Kingdom of God. Comparing ourselves with others either causes shame, discontent, and jealousy (feeling inferior) or pride, arrogance, and contempt (feeling superior). Either way is unhealthy and unproductive. In Comparison Girl, the author shows us there's a better way to live our lives by learning from Jesus how to be free from self-absorption in this measure-up world.

Do you struggle with not measuring up? Do you worry about how others think of you? Or do you think, "I would never..." when others make wrong choices? Do you easily find faults in others while being clueless about your own faults? This book addresses all these issues (insecurities, envy, fear, pride, arrogance, self-importance) and more. Shannon Popkin invites us women to tip our measuring cup and pour ourselves out to love and serve others like Jesus. "When I tip my measuring cup, the lines become beautifully irrelevant." (p. 31) When our focus is on Jesus, on following Him, and on how we can honor & uplift others, we are set free from the me-focused bondage and the comparison trap. It's far better (more blessed) to empty out our lives completely and love others unconditionally, selflessly, sacrificially, to serve others with humility, and give generously.

The book is convicting, eye-opening, and encouraging at the same time. It helps us readers be aware that the Enemy uses comparison to steal our peace & joy, kill our contentment & confidence, and destroy our authenticity and relationships. Comparison divides people; that's what Satan wants but not what God wants (God wants unity). The author challenges us to examine our hearts and attitudes.
While I read the book, there were several moments of "I've been there done that" :). Sometimes we even subconsciously compare ourselves with others without realizing it. The temptation to compare tends to rear its ugly head every now and then. Beware of this spiritual warfare. May we rest contentedly in Christ's righteousness and sufficient grace! May we look to Christ alone for our value, significance, and worth, instead of striving to prove them to the world!

The author effectively combines examples from the Bible, real life stories, and her own personal experiences to make her messages relatable and applicable. The book is easy to read and is packed with much-needed wisdom and insights. Comparison Girl is an excellent resource for women; it makes a great six-week Bible study for small groups or individual study. The book is divided into six main sections: From Measuring Up to Pouring Out, Comparing Your Sin and Mine, Comparing Wealth, Comparing Skin-Deep Packaging, Comparing Our Ministries, and Comparing Status. Each section contains 4-5 lessons. Each lesson includes a relevant Bible passage/story and ends with thought-provoking questions & more Bible verses that help stir us to make positive changes, Scriptures for meditation, and a prayer. I highly recommend this book to all women.

"In God's family, everyone is celebrated--not because we are all the same, but precisely because we are different. Our goal is to create unity, not uniformity. If everyone were uniform, why would we need unity?" (p. 55)


~I received a free copy of this book via Audra Jennings PR in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.



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