Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.
Galatians 6:1-5
During 2026, Peachtree Church is inviting everyone into Cultivate, a churchwide discipleship plan centered on the fruit of the Spirit and the kind of life God longs to grow in us. Throughout the year, we’ll explore how love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control take shape in everyday life through the Spirit’s work. Cultivate brings together worship, Scripture, group guides, and meaningful practices designed to meet you where you are and support growth in ways that fit your season. These twice-weekly devotionals are one way to stay connected, offering reflection and grounding for daily life with God. Whether you engage in many ways or just one, you’re invited to be part of this shared journey of becoming more rooted in who God has created and called you to be.
Devotional
Teddy Roosevelt is believed to have first said the famous words, “Comparison is the thief of joy,” and, as with many quotes, that single line is often used out of context from a much larger quotation (and I’m guilty in this case especially). While these words are meant to help us remember not to compare ourselves to others, there is a further sentence within the quote that I’ve found helpful: “You cannot always choose what happens to you or your circumstances, but you can always choose your attitude by what you choose to compare your experiences or circumstances to and therefore how you will feel!!”
I like to read the final two verses of our passage for this week in light of the larger Roosevelt quotation, “Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.” Our actions are our own, and we should see them each as such, without comparing them to the actions of those around us. Yet I cannot help but think through how often I forget to do so and instead compare what I have done to those around me or have comparison thrust upon me by others.
It is in that later circumstance that many of us find ourselves. It is all too easy for our joy to erode as comparison begins to undermine our sense of well-being and pride in our actions. Yet I strive to remember that I allow my joy to be stolen when I give in to these comparison games, rather than choosing to compare myself not to others but to my own experiences or circumstances, which changes the exercise from one where joy is stolen to one where joy remains strong. The challenge is that, in these times, we must offer ourselves the same spirit of gentleness that Paul calls us to offer to those seeking restoration within the church.
One of my great challenges is not seeking forgiveness and restoration with God but doing so with myself. I can accept God’s grace more easily than I can offer grace to myself, because more often than not I see my own experiences and circumstances as much more dire than the reality of the situation, for I do not take pride in myself alone. Still, I compare myself to those who are further along in their journeys or to those who have never faced the challenges I face in that moment.
For Reflection
- Do you have an easier time forgiving others or yourself? Why do you think that is the case?
- Where in your life do you compare yourself to other people?
Prayer
God, help me to see myself as you see me, to know that in your eyes I am forgiven and that I am fearfully and wonderfully made in your image. In moments when it is easy to compare myself to others, help me to seek the reminder that you have equipped me to carry the load that I alone can carry. In Jesus’ name we pray; amen.
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Devotionals