Greener Pastures

We have a saying in our household.  “The grass is not always greener on the other side, it’s just different.”  Why do I say this over and over to my kids?  Well, sometimes it’s a reminder for myself, but most of the time it’s a warning to my children to not engage in the comparison game. 

Comparison is great when you’re buying a new product, deciding on a future career path, or planning a trip.  But when it comes to relationships, comparison is a joy killer, confidence robber, and an outright antagonist.  It can take a cohesive work environment and turn it hostile.  It destroys camaraderie, erodes the best of relationships, and causes us to keep an account of all wrongs.  This last part goes directly against 1 Corinthians 13:5 which tells us that love isn’t rude, self-seeking, or irritable and that it keeps no record of being wronged.  If we as Christians are called to love, comparison has no place among us. 

So the next time you feel the need to compare yourself to that co-worker, the one with the new office, the one that doesn’t have as much work as you do; instead compare yourself to the standard of Jesus Christ who didn’t cling to his rights as the Son of God, but instead humbled himself to the point of death for you and me.  When you find yourself keeping a tally of who does more in the house, who has what you have always wanted, who got the promotion you deserved, who is receiving the admiration you desire; might I suggest that you take your eyes off of that imaginary greener pasture you think they have and put them on the person of Jesus Christ instead.

If we are to have fellowship with one another, if we are to live this life in a way that pleases God and brings Him glory, comparison should have no place in our lives.  It needs to be cast off and thrown aside along with jealousy, back-biting, fault finding, gloating, and everything else that stands in the way of us walking in love toward one another.  When we are busy doing the work of the Father, when our eyes are focused on the Son, we won’t have time to engage in the petty things that bring us down and hurt our witness.