Christian Living

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Love Is...Not Being Jealous of Others
by Chaplain Dan Langerock

Have you ever thought about what you are saying to God when you envy what someone else has?

"You Don't Care" You are telling God that He cares more about the person you are envying than He does about tou. "If you really loved me you would give me what they have". God has given them what they have because He
wanted them to have it. He has also given you things that others do not have--if you will reflect on these.
Another possibility is that you didn't take care of what you had, therefore you don't have it any longer. Let's use relationships for an example: Maybe you are envying someone because their relationships worked out and yours did not. Sometimes things just happen in life that are out of our control, while other times it may go bad for reasons of neglect and other factors. The sad part is that this will keep happening in subsequent relationships until you fix it. You are the one who knows why, and it is
your responsibility to fix it, unless you want to live your life with bad relationships. A third possibility is that you can't stand it when someone else has
something you don't possess. Because of this attitude you have a marred relationship with that person. You may have even "stepped over the line" and taken by one means or another that item from the person. Now you may have what you wanted, but you also have a trail of broken relationships as well. If you read the Bible you will see that God gets very angry with this kind of behavior.

"I Can't Wait" In our society we must be instantly gratified or we are not happy. We get in more trouble indulging our wants in this manner instead of waiting for God to bless us with what we need. We are saying:
"Your timetable is wrong, God, but mine is right."

You are a unique person, with blessings in your life you may not even be aware of. Can you imagine how boring life would be if everyone had the same blessings. Joe down the street gets a blue car so there is one in my driveway also. God treats us equally, yet blesses us in different ways. One may be great in math, but miserable at ceramics. One can make a wonderfully tasty souffle while another has trouble making a basic recipe. We can certainly look at our weak points and develop them through whatever means.
But we are not to envy each other because one is so blessed in an area while another is not. Look to your own life and take account of what God has done there in the way of blessings. Keep a list if you want to. Celebrate that you are different than the person next door, or a friend or relative. You will never get anywhere by complaining about what you don't possess. Make an effort to develop your weak points. Just as an athlete works on those groups of muscles that are weakest, you can do the same thing in your own life. Be thankful for what God has given you already. He will bless you even more when you have the right attitude toward yourself and others.

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