One-Upmanship Hurts Everyone
"all who swear by God's name will praise him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced." -- Psalm 63:11b
I am forever amazed that some people get their own self-esteem by putting others down. It's as though they can't think anything good about themselves except in how they relate to others. It's that old competition thing where my child got all A's but their child got all A plus'. You know the type. They'll one-up you or die trying.
I encountered one of these people again today. It happens. Most of the time I laugh it off. I know that the subtle digs and bragging aren't about me. I know the comments come from the person's insecurities. And, frankly, I think some of it is just habit. The person has done it so often, for so long, I don't think he even realizes it sometimes.
But it isn't okay. We are all worthy and valuable in God's eyes. Each of us has strengths and weaknesses. That I succeed in something someone else doesn't succeed in is irrelevant. I can pretty much guarantee you that the other person succeeds in things that I fail at. So what? We are called to encourage one another not condemn each another in order to build ourselves up.
Verbally kicking someone hurts -- both the recipient and the accuser. It's a sad event. We can be assured, however, that God knows. God sees. And God will sort things out in His own time and in His own way.
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