We live in a world full of gifted people. Everywhere we go we are surrounded by the beauty and skill and passion of others.

Unfortunately, our responses to the greatness of others are not always healthy. Jealousy. Comparison. Envy. Wrath even. We sometimes feel as though the ability of others is a condemnation of our own ability. As soon as someone succeeds, we can feel stifled and limited, as if our own success is being subsequently pushed out of the way.

We forget that we are all in this together. We are made to work as a team. Counter-Intuitive as it seems, celebrating others actually allows us the opportunity to be ourselves. Others are great. We can’t stop that (and shouldn’t). The prison is not the ability of others but the perspective we adopt in response.

Unhealthy responses are a treadmill that waste our energy and keep us from progressing. An untrue perspective can poison us, creating unnecessary obstacles and paradigms that are unproductive.

Celebrating the greatness in others is part of participating in greatness. It frees us to be encouraged and contributive. It leads to understanding. Choosing to value others unleashes power to unlock the potential within ourselves. It is an act of love. Acting in love taps in to the unlimited power of the Spirit.

To see others as valuable is an opportunity to also look within and see how we might partner with the good going on in the world.

“But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.”
– 2 Corinthians 10:12