By David ReayThursday 26 Feb 2015LifeWords DevotionalsCultureReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read Proverbs 14:30
30 A heart at peace gives life to the body,
but envy rots the bones. (NIV)
When life is not turning out the way we would like it to be,we may be tempted to cast our eyes enviously over the lives of others. Their children seem to be thriving; their marriages appear to be flourishing; their family relationships are close and loving. In short,life has dealt harshly with us and benevolently with them.
There are two problems with that line of thinking. One is that appearances can be deceiving. We truly do not know what is going on in others’ lives. Those attractive facades may conceal a darker reality. The areas where they may be truly going well compared with us might hide the fact that in other areas we are doing much better. Behind the neat homes,the smiling family photographs,the well scrubbed children and the gestures of affection may lurk pain and sorrow beyond our understanding.
The other problem is that even if they really are travelling much better than us at present,envying them will do no good. As our text today suggests,it will ‘rot our bones’. We can commit our frustrations and sorrow to God and ask him to help us deal with it,help us develop a degree of contentment. But to become fixated on the fortunes of others means we fail to locate God in our own situation and don’t ever come to understand others’ situations.
The greener grass is not always what it seems. In the words of the title of Erma Bombeck’s book: “The grass is always greener over the septic tank!”
Blessings
David Reay