Do What Is Yours To Do
JAMIE ERICKSON
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“Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.” Galatians 6:4 (NLT)
My friend makes her sour cream. From scratch. With her own hands. It’s so delicious that I may or may not have eaten it straight out of the bowl once.
Another woman in my circle can play multiple instruments; she’s like a one-person marching band.
Still another creates complicated quilt patterns with hand-dyed fabrics. I’m not overselling in the slightest when I say they are award-winning works of art. She has a drawer full of blue ribbons to prove it.
My friends do a lot of amazing things. God, in His infinite wisdom and creativity, has wired each of them to be spectacular in their unique ways. But though they are great in some areas of life, like me, they are exceptionally ordinary in all the rest. They’re human, after all.
Galatians 6:4 says, “Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.” If I’m not mindful to pay attention to what is mine to pay attention to, I can easily forget my humanity.
I begin to compare. Instead of championing my friends, I let their successes discourage and distract me. I convince myself that I, too, need to raise chickens, organize a fundraiser, adopt a shelter dog, grow prize-winning azaleas, run for city council, curate lunch dates with my husband that will inspire Hallmark greeting card writers, and repaint the garage. By breakfast.
I combine all these talents into a big melting pot, creating a composite portrait of one perfect person in my mind, as if any woman could be infinitely great at everything. She can’t. Only God is everything.
What usually follows comparison is a wave of overwhelm. I wear myself out trying to do what everyone else is doing instead of pouring my one full life into what God has put right in front of me. I see everyone else’s abilities and immediately feel less-than.
Why am I so aggressively mediocre at house cleaning?
After practicing the violin for nearly two years, I still sound like I’m killing kittens.
I haven’t changed my hairstyle since the Clinton administration. Why am I such a fashion tragedy?
I forget, or perhaps ignore, that all those other women have messy middles, false starts, and failures too. When I anxiously take my eyes off my work, I make an idol out of the ideal I see in the lives of others.
You too?
Here’s a truth to remember today: We can find satisfaction in a job well done, but only when we pay close attention to our own work. Let’s stop looking over our shoulders and resist the temptation to compare ourselves to anyone else.
Lord, thank You for surrounding me with talented friends. May I remember that the gifts and callings You’ve given them do not detract from what You’ve given me. Help me do what’s mine to do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
OUR FAVORITE THINGS
In her new book, Overwhelmed Mom, Jamie equips women to edit their lives with intention, find purpose and vision in the work God has called them to, and create daily rhythms that will help them steward their days with delight, not drudgery.
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FOR DEEPER STUDY
James 3:14-16, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice” (ESV).
What extra tasks have you added to your days simply because you’ve seen others doing them?
Make a list of two or three talents God has given you, and humbly release the rest. We’d love to hear from you — share with us in the comments!
© 2025 by Jamie Erickson. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
P.O. Box 3189
Matthews, NC 28106
www.Proverbs31.org
Originally published Wednesday, 06 August 2025.
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