Greener Grass part 4
If you're always looking at the grass on the other side, and thinking that it's greener, you're making sure you can't enjoy the grass on your own side. And if you don't like the grass on your own side... water it. MAKE it greener. Tend it and keep it. Take care of it. I truly believe that you can tell who a person is by looking at what's important to them. Because how we spend our Three T's (Time, Talent, Treasure) is how we interact with this life. And, to kind of keep with the gardening theme, what you put into it is what you get out of it. If you plant seeds of love, they will grow. Now, again, when I say "you" in this case I mean Jesus... because HE is the gardener. He is the one who finished the work. All we're really doing is focusing on what He did. Understanding and experiencing the fruit of HIS labor. And that's why it's pointless to compare yourself to anything or anybody else. You might be jealous of what someone else has, and you don't even realize how many people are jealous of what YOU have. You might think someone else is so much better off than you are, and not even realize the struggle they are going through. And you one hundred percent WILL miss out on what you've got by focusing on what you haven't got. Remember we talked about the thief in John 10? Who comes only to steal, and to kill, and to destroy? That's... us. We steal from ourselves by neglecting what we have. We kill our own joy by comparing ourselves to what we THINK is going on somewhere else. Because here's the deal: Life is hard. EVERYBODY is struggling. Nobody has things as easy as we think they do. But on the same token, things aren't always as hard as we think they are. A lot of times we make things harder (for ourselves and for others) by not focusing on what really matters. What someone else has, compared to what I have, doesn't matter. What someone else has doesn't have anything to do with me. But if I get all caught up and wrapped up in wishing I had what they had... then I'm missing out on what I DO have. That's where we get into trouble so much of the time. If we could just cultivate this attitude of gratitude, and pour ourselves into GIVING what we've got (and in that way experiencing what we've got) we would all be a lot better off. And think about this--you're upset because you think someone else has it better than you, right? Well, you can't do anything except give what you've got. You can't give what you don't have and you can only give what you do have. So if you things to be better... instead of trying to get, get, get... just give. Look at Matthew 10:8 (NLT), "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received." Receive it and release it. Let what's inside come out, by knowing and believing that it's in there. And notice that Jesus wasn't even talking about material possessions in any way. He was tlaking about healing. Bringing people from death unto life. I think there's a Spiritual aspect to that idea where when you love someone you are literally raising the dead. The difference between death and life is love. No love... no life. Know love... know life! So instead of worrying about what we think we don't have, and instead of comparing ourselves to others... just love people. Let God love you and love Him back by loving the people you come into contact with. Don't compare yourself to them. Don't rob yourself of what you've got by looking at what you haven't. Just experience and enjoy what you've got... by giving it away. Let what's inside come out, by knowing and believing that it's in there. God loves you. Love Him back... by loving people. That's how you water the grass. That's how you MAKE things important. Give them your Three T's. Give them your love!