BE JOYFUL, NOT JEALOUS

Should you be jealous because I am kind to others? —Matthew 10:15

How do you feel when someone else gets a promotion at work? How do you feel when someone’s business is doing much better than yours? How do you feel when another person gets a better grade or whose place is higher at graduation? How do you feel when another team takes the championship? How do you feel with others seem to be in perfect health and your health is failing? How do you feel when others seem to have things going better in their life than the things in your life?

Are you content with what God has graciously given you or are you jealous over what He has given others? Are you joyful when good things happen to others but not to you? Are you content with whom God has made you to be or do you wish you were someone else?

According to the context of the verse above, the foreman in the parable was told to pay each person a day’s wage. The owner wanted to be gracious to each one. So those who worked from early morning, from 9am, from noon, from 3pm and from 5pm all received the same pay. Those who worked from early morning were not happy about it even though they were paid what they agreed to. Just because the others were paid the same, even those who only worked for one hour, those working from early morning believed they should get paid more and because they did not they said the owner was unfair. But this was not the case. They got paid exactly what was agreed upon. The owner was gracious to those not working all day. He was not unfair.

So it is with us. Just because someone else is blessed doesn’t mean that we are not. They may be being blessed in a different way, but that does not mean God has not blessed us! Maybe we would understand this more if we looked at how good God has been to us and not to measure that by how good God has been to others. Let us be joyful for how God is blessing other people, but let us not forget how He has blessed us and be joyfully thankful for that as well. Besides, what greater blessing for the believer than that which is still ahead— heaven where we will be with Jesus forever and with all those who love Him!

Dear Father, may I ponder the ways You have graciously blessed me through Your Son, Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit. May joy fill my life and may I be joyful also for the way You bless others. May it be so!