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Greener Grass

The grass is not always greener on the other side. But even if it is, we are not to covet other people's possessions. In Exodus 20:17, God gave this command to the Israelites: "You shall not covet your neighbor's house ... or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

The Sin of Envy
"Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other."

-Galatians 5:26

The Joneses

from Breaking Bread Together, edited by Elaine Rich

My neighbor is a good manager. Her house is always clean. Her closets never erupt coats and boxes when she opens them. Her wash floats upon the breeze on Monday mornings. Her garden is green when others are not yet spaded.

God gives some people a beautiful gift of timing. Their work seems always to be done more quickly and with less effort than that of their neighbors.

God allows other people to prosper financially. Their homes may be simple to the extreme, but we feel instinctively that every piece of furniture and furnishing is in harmony.

You may say that this is a matter of hard work, inherited money, cultivated taste. I grant this is true in part. But God still is the giver of all good gifts, and permits good as well as evil circumstances.

Did you ever stop to think just which Mrs. Jones you are trying to keep up with? The good-managing Mrs. Jones? The wealthy Mrs. Jones? The artistic Mrs. Jones? Probably we have each tried in a small way to keep up with all three.

I had a beautiful thought one day. I am sure it was a thought from God. It was this: I will try to think of my friends to appreciate them for what they are, what they have, what they mean to me. I will not try to keep up with them! I am much happier when I remember to follow this way.

If I want to keep up with something, it will be with God's will for me. I am afraid I am often far from being the woman He wants me to become. God holds me accountable for the use of the gifts He has given me, whether these gifts be children, talents, or things. He has a plan for me, and He takes care of the Joneses as well.

God Himself fills the cups.

James 1:17

From Breaking Bread Together edited by Elaine Rich. Copyright 1958 by Herald Press, Scottdale, PA 15683. All rights reserved. Used by permission. This work may not be copied or distributed in any manner without the permission of Herald Press.