ONE may sometimes profitably compare his present with his past experience, to note the progress made out of wrong conditions, but to compare one's own experience with another's is seldom if ever wise or profitable. Such comparison is apt to lead us into the deception of self-righteousness that we are doing so much better than our brother, or into the slough of discouragement because our brother is apparently doing so much better than we. One sometimes progresses faster than another because he works harder, because he is more willing to abide and be governed by what he learns, or is more faithful to the ideal unfolded to him in Christian Science; but these are differences which lie within one's own power to adjust. The Scriptural statement that God will render to every man "according to his works" should prevent all jealousy, discouragement, or self-glorification over the differing degrees of understanding and demonstration reached by different students.
Divine Principle holds each individual to the strict performance of his own work, not that of another. The morning-glory does not cease expressing its fresh loveliness because it is not a rose, nor does the rose withhold its fragrance because it is not a butterfly or a bird; and neither should we refrain from being the best we can because we do not seem as well favored as are some others. God expects every man to do his duty, that is, to express his full measure of sweetness and purity and love and goodness, and all the other Godlike qualities which make up the real man. This is not too much for the divine creator to expect of His offspring, and it is not more than we should expect of ourselves. The doing of this, the fidelity to man's true nature, comprises all that makes human life blessed and glorious; it sums up all that the best man has achieved, yet it is not beyond the reach of the least in the kingdom of heaven.
To be good should be the highest ambition of all men. To have a less supreme desire is to give place to evil, invite it into our thoughts, and become its servant. Jesus defined this ambition as seeking the kingdom of God first. If we are diligent and wise in the use of our one talent, shall not compare ourselves with the man who has two or five, and so lay away our one means of salvation in the napkin of ingratitude and jealousy, but will rather rejoice in our brother's greater abundance. We must acknowledge in our own hearts, if honest, that if there were none better than ourselves it were a sad outlook for human advancement and growth towards perfection. Then let us not compare our own progress with those beyond us, except to give thanks that their experience is such a bright prophecy of the larger good awaiting us.
