Jacob 2:13-14 -- On Comparison and Discrimination

"And the hand of providence hath smiled upon you most pleasingly, that you have obtained many riches; and because some of you have obtained more abundantly than that of your brethren ye are lifted up in the pride of your hearts, and wear stiff necks and high heads because of the costliness of your apparel, and persecute your brethren because ye suppose that ye are better than they.
And now, my brethren, do ye suppose that God justifieth you in this thing? Behold, I say unto you, Nay. But he condemneth you, and if ye persist in these things his judgments must speedily come unto you."
Jacob 2:13-14


This theme of thinking that we are better than each other comes up a lot in scripture, and too often in our normal lives as well. In these verses the reason for the perception of superiority is wealth and expensive clothing, but that sense of superiority/pride comes with a zillion excuses. Maybe we have a better education or a gorgeous spouse. Maybe we can trace our lineage back to some cool or prominent people, or maybe we've had the gospel in our family longer than someone else. Maybe we have a white collar job or a blue collar job, or we believe in one political party over another. Maybe our weaknesses and sins seem better than other people's... but no matter the justification, the truth is, we aren't better than anyone else. We might have a skill or a talent that they don't have, but they probably have some that we don't as well, and overall, in God's eyes (which are the ones that see most clearly), we all have the same high potential, as his children.

God asks us to humble ourselves and acknowlege our unworthiness rather than thanking him that we are better than anyone (Alma 38:14), and that humility is what will get us through similar temptations, when we are tempted to think that we are better than others, or smarter than God. :) Today, let's try to remember to love others as we love ourselves, and to lift others up and help them grow closer to God rather than pushing them down or endangering our own souls by judging ourselves superior. :)