by Kelly Pelton (written 02 Oct 2021)

This is what divides us, men and women,
Jews and Gentiles, one race and another,
those in power and those not, rich and poor:
our comparisons which tend to smother

compassion and treasuring each person.
Better-than/worse-than thinking is a wall,
a hostile barrier that limits love
between all people we deem "great" and "small."

Performance-driven competition reigns;
Christ had to abolish the law, one way
we measure ourselves against another.
"I'm better than you," I cannot now say,

for the law is worthless regarding worth;
it cannot convey inestimable
value, only that we all fall so short
of Perfect, we think we're detestable.
 
But God has made the two one by taking 
all punishment for evil on the cross,
proving us Loved, breaking down resistance
to loving other people. What a loss

to again pick up our measuring sticks,
our comparisons, our pressure-driven
one-upmanship, when "loved," not "better than,"
is our true reality, God-given.