Grass is Always Greener | Crosstraining 3.6.15

Psalm 27:13-14 Have you ever noticed that your job stinks compared to everyone else’s job? It’s easy to fall into that “grass is always greener on the other side” mentality. I know I personally will look at what other people get to do and what they get paid for, compare it to my own life, and get a little jealous. My wife always gets frustrated when people tell her it “must be nice” to be a teacher because of the summers off. Sure, the summers are nice, but she also has to deal with middle school kids who haven’t learned how deodorant works yet. There are good things and bad about every job – we really should just be thankful if we have a job, but we often fixate on the negatives of our own jobs and focus on the positives of other people’s jobs. We do this in other areas of life as well. We constantly rest God’s goodness in other people’s lives, and we ignore the blessings of God in our own life. We overvalue other people’s circumstances, and we undervalue our own. Whether it’s comparing ourselves to how someone else looks, what they have, their skills, or relationships, we constantly see the best in them but the worst in ourselves. We get frustrated with all the good things that happen in their life when it seems like we just can’t catch a break. This perspective of comparison will wreck our life if we let it. Not only will we resent other people, but we will get angry with God because He hasn’t given us what He has given someone else. Comparison leads us to completely forget about the good we do have in our life because we are consumed with what we don’t have. This sucks the joy out of every single day. When we compare ourselves to other people, there is zero hope we will ever find peace and contentment with who and where we are. // TWO-A-DAYS // GO A LITTLE FARTHER WITH YOUR DAILY DEVOTIONS // Go through these questions with your spouse, kids, or friend, or you can even journal about the answers to these questions:

1. What was the best part of your day?
2. What was the toughest part of your day?
3. Where did you mess up today?
4. Where did you see God today?

Reflect: Think about the phrase “We resent God’s goodness in other people’s lives and ignore God’s blessing in our own life.” Why do you think it’s so easy to allow what we don’t have to trump what we’ve already been given? Pray: Spend a few minutes in your prayer time today asking God to help you get a better perspective on your life when it comes to comparing yourself to other people and being content in who and where you are READ THROUGH THE NEW TESTAMENT: Today’s Reading: Hebrews 1]]>