Everyone you meet holds in the mind the image of who they want to become. There is nothing wrong in having an image, except that for most people the picture they hold is far from the ideal. Many people are simply living to attain certain picture painted for them by others. If you fall into this temptation you will step into a life of unhealthy competition. This may ruin your peace and joy. It may even ruin you spiritually as the pressure to seek extra biblical means to attain certain ends will keep mounting. Apart from drawing inspiration from what other people are doing, it will bring you harrowing experience if you set yourself up to be like them. The only honorable thing for one to do is to compete against self, seeking to maximize one’s potentials in God and surpass previous achievement.

If you must set a goal of becoming like someone, then that someone should be Jesus…when you use human beings as your standard you will either become envious or proud. What God is looking for is to release people who carry the full nature of Christ into the world.

God’s ultimate plan for everyone is to line up with the image of Jesus. The Son of God is the plumb line to assess our operations. If you must set a goal of becoming like someone, then that someone should be Jesus. Because the standard set by Him is so high you will always find areas of your life that needs improvement. On the other hand when you use human beings as your standard you will either become envious or proud. Envy if you don’t measure up to them; pride if you surpass them. Either way you will still fall short of God’s approval because His word does not condone these attitudes. What God is looking for is to release people who carry the full nature of Christ into the world. This is what will give Him glory. Your prayer should be to reflect more of the beauty of Jesus.