I Didn't Know I Needed That

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “comparison is the thief of joy”.

I have often times been so graciously delivered into a state of total contentment in life. Then I start to scroll the gram and see someone I follow make a post about a new product they love. This is all it takes, one click of the “post” button, and I am thinking to myself, “I need that too”, or “man that would make my life so different”. Before seeing that post, I was completely oblivious to that specific product. I didn’t know I needed it until I saw its value and purpose.

But did I really need it? Or was it the approval from others I needed? Was it the immediate satisfaction I needed?

It can be so easy to look at what others have and be envious or jealous and want more for ourselves. We can get so focused on what we don’t have that we completely overlook that things we do have. In this sense, comparison is a thief of joy. What if we took a minute every time we caught ourselves in that moment of “wanting” something that someone else had, something more, and thanked God for what we already have.

I can’t help but think about how Eve must have felt a similar emotion when the enemy told her about the tree of knowledge of good an evil. She literally had a perfect life and was still tempted to want more.

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘you must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5).

Scripture says love is “not jealous” (1 Corinthians 13:4). So how can we show love? By not being jealous. When we show love, we show that we belong to Jesus.

“By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).

Let’s go one step further and thank God for providing for and blessing the person who has what we think we want. Let’s celebrate each other and encourage each other in communion instead of comparing our circumstances and outcomes.

In the spirit … dare I say, in the Holy Spirit, of loving others and showing them Jesus in our actions, what if we had that effect on others? What if they saw how we acted and reacted in situations and saw joy and contentment and said, “I need that too”, or “Man that would make my life so different”. They might think, “I didn’t know I needed it until I saw it’s value and purpose”.

So, while it’s so easy to be influenced and tempted to want more, let’s be the influencer. Let’s give joy and how them what they are missing!

Bible Verse: Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:3-4).

Something to think about: Take a minute to write down three things you prayed for in the past and now have and thank God for answering your prayers.

Prayer: Father God, thank you for being a God who cares about the desires of my heart. Help me to keep my eyes and heart on you and your desires so I don’t fall into the temptation to want what others have. May I only want what you want for me.