We are often told that comparison is the thief of joy. If we focus on how much better those around us have it, with their newer vehicles, bigger houses, fancier vacations, children that are better behaved at Mass, etc., we will lose sight of our blessings. Our gratitude will most often begin to decline. I don’t think this is always the case, though. I have found that sometimes, it can be beneficial to compare our plights to others, especially when it helps paint our perspective with reality. The act of comparison can help us realize that the trial or struggle we’re enduring isn’t as monumental as we’re making it out to be.

Just the other day, I was struggling with the physical symptoms of what I can only assume is the latest strain of whatever respiratory virus is making the rounds this season. So, I turned on the TV to force myself to sit still in order to rest and recover. I never know what to watch since I rarely have control of the remote, but I eventually opted to view a documentary about St. Paul. In the movie, I learned that during Paul’s ministry in Rome, which coincided with the rule of emperor Nero, Christians were martyred by being turned into Roman candles. I’m not talking about the fireworks that shoot exploding balls of colorful fire out one end. I’m talking about the execution method in which Christians were covered with pitch, oil, wax, or other flammable materials, rendered immobile by being secured to a stake or a wall, and were then lit on fire starting with their feet, so they would become a human candle used to light the streets of Rome or Nero’s garden, sometimes burning alive for days before succumbing to this gruesome torture mechanism. Suddenly, my cough, fever, and sore throat didn’t seem like such a big deal anymore. “First world problems,” as I would tell my kids.

I don’t share this perspective to diminish anyone’s pain or hardship. We are always encouraged to join Christ in his suffering, as the Catechism states: “By his passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to him and unite us with his redemptive Passion” (CCC 1505). I’m merely attempting to highlight that sometimes it’s not such a bad thing to compare our struggles to someone carrying a heavier cross than us. It can provide us with an authentic perspective and remind us to pray for them.