READ MATTHEW 20
A group of unemployed men were hired at dawn to work in a vineyard. Since they were desperate, they were delighted to have a job offer and quickly agreed to work for a denarius – the standard daily wage. But at dusk when they learned that others who had worked for just an hour got the same pay they were very unhappy and protested about the gross inequity. However, their employer insisted he wasn’t being unfair, “Why should you be envious just because I’m generous to someone else?” he asked(Matthew 20:15).
Are you envious because God doesn’t distribute his blessings equally? Do you frequently compare your circumstances with someone else and make yourself miserable? “His salary is higher than mine.” “She has twins and I am barren.” “Their child is more talented than ours.” “Their house has a bigger family room.” “His wife is slimmer.” “Her husband is more thoughtful.” “Their church has a better preacher.” “Their team is doing better.” On and on it goes.
If you habitually compare your circumstances with others you’ll become a very thankless, unhappy person, because no matter how much you’ve been blessed, there will always be someone who seems to be blessed more. “…envy rots the bones,” Solomon wrote. (Prov.14:30)
Years ago when popular author Max Lucado was a guest speaker at our church my wife couldn’t say enough good things about him. Judy was in charge or our church’s tape ministry and gleefully told me, “We sold a record number of tapes today. We sold 670 tapes of Max’s sermon.”
I said, “That’s great!” But then I made the mistake of asking, “What’s the highest number of my tapes you’ve ever sold?”
“Oh, your message on worry a few months ago sold 250 tapes”, she quipped. “But we sold 670 tapes today! Can you believe it?”
Somehow I wasn’t encouraged. You see, if Judy had told me weeks before, “Your sermon on worry today sold a record 250 tapes!” I would have been elated. But 250 compared to 670 is embarrassing!
That same weekend I learned that Max Lucado had sold 38 million copies of his books. I’ve written a few books but have only sold about 380,000. I remarked to a friend, “Boy, that’s humbling. I’ve sold one tenth of what Max has sold.” He said, ‘No. Your math is off. It’s 1/100th! I was on suicide watch for two weeks! ….Well, not really – but isn’t that dumb?
One couple confessed that they had often compared their son with his best friend Jason who was studious, ambitious and obviously headed for success. They had often wondered, “Why can’t Mark be more like his friend Jason? Let’s hope some of his diligence wears off.”
Then one day Jason’s parents said to them, “We’ve really enjoyed having Mark around. He’s good for Jason. We’ve often wished that our son were more like Mark. He’s so personable, easygoing and fun to be around. We tell Jason he needs to loosen up. It’s personality that makes people successful in life, you know.
The Bible says, “When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise” (2 Cor. 10:12). Constant comparison is a direct path to chronic discontentment.
The cure? Visit with and minister to people who are obviously less fortunate than you. While we need exposure to people who have excelled to lift our vision and challenge us, we also need to be around people who struggle. Their challenges humble us and deepen our sense of appreciation for how blessed we really are.
Want to be content with your present circumstances? Take a mission trip to a Third World country and when you return America looks really good. Or read a book about the vicious persecution of believers in predominately Muslim countries and our freedom to worship quickly overrides your petty criticisms of the church service on Sunday.
Go to the rehab center and visit a soldier who has just lost a leg and you leave asking God to forgive you for whining about having to walk so far to your car. Take a gift to a needy family in a run-down trailer park and your family room doesn’t seem so inadequate when you get home. Visit grieving parents whose teenage son has just been killed in a car accident and you come home and embrace your teen who wonders why you’re acting weird…but in reality God has opened your eyes to His goodness.
Years ago there was a praise song that read, “I get lifted up when I praise Him.” That’s true. When we praise God for His blessings instead of griping that we don’t have it as good as someone else, our spirits are lifted and we can say with Paul, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:12-13)
