Have I compared my circumstances to others and lost my peace?

June 13, 2014: Have I compared my circumstances to others and lost my peace? Please "Share" this Precious Prodigal Post: http://bit.ly/1mTn1gh

Hebrews 13:5 "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

1 Kings 21 tells how King Ahab tried to buy a small vineyard that belonged to Naboth. When Naboth refused to sell it, Ahab’s reaction was to put aside any dignity he should have had as king and pout in his bed, turning his face to the wall and refusing to eat. Not content with his vast riches, Ahab made himself miserable coveting what someone else had.

Covetousness isn’t limited to people who are rich like Ahab, nor is it only about material things. Matter of fact, it doesn’t really have much to do with what we have or don’t have. It’s more about a heart attitude that tells us we can’t be happy unless…or until …and you fill in the blank. And it finds its root in discontent with what God has given us or in the path He has given us to walk.

Most of the people I know wouldn’t be envious of the house others may have or of any other material things people accumulate. But if you want to see covetousness in action, watch how people react when someone wins a writing contract, a poetry contest, the lead part in a drama or first seat in the orchestra. Or just go to your local park for a Little League game.

You might think those things are shallow, and I would agree. But just because we covet or long for things we think are more important, that doesn’t make coveting them more right, nor does it make us feel any less awful. When we’re covetous, it’s usually for one of two reasons. And either of them can take our joy and fill us with bitterness.

The first reason is that we assume what we see of someone’s life is the whole picture. But the truth is we only see a tiny part of other people’s lives through the window they choose to open for us. And any time we compare ourselves with someone else, we are comparing our inside with their outside. If we could really see the burdens they have, we almost certainly wouldn’t be willing to trade with them.

The second reason we are covetous is that we aren’t satisfied or content with what God has given us. If we’re not careful, comparing our circumstances with what others have will make us doubt God’s love and even question His goodness and mercy toward us. No wonder part of our text verse tells us why we should be content: Because he has promised never to leave us or forsake us.

I’m not saying your path is easy. I’m walking a hard path too. But I know that God hasn’t put this wilderness journey in our lives by accident or without purpose. I often can’t choose or even understand some of the things that have happened, but I can choose to trust my God who cannot fail whether or not I understand. That childlike trust might enable me to ask what I can get out of my circumstances rather than how I can get out of them. And it might give me back the peace my heart longs to know.

Challenge for Today: Can you, just for today, refuse to compare your life with someone else? Can you instead trust that God will walk with you each difficult step of the way?