Took some time off. Really just headed out-of-town and left work and stuff behind. I had become pretty wound up in my calendar, and it was running me, instead of me running it. So, break time it was, and off I went.

As we were driving about today, looking at the lovely fall landscape and some of the large and formidable homes in the area, I realized that I felt no envy, or longing. None of the old feelings of bitterness clouded my enjoyment of the afternoon drive. In years past, I would have made sour comments, such as “must be nice to have such a large, lovely place, I wonder who they inherited it from?” and other such talk that only served to expose the discontent within my heart.

Jesus says in Luke 12:15

“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

When I see the things of others that I don’t have, I have 2 choices, maybe 3. One, I can get really wrapped up in wanting and envying their stuff, and going into a pity party about how unfair it is that I don’t have that stuff, and why did God choose me to suffer with less stuff, and so on. This is about being ungrateful about what we do have and turning it into crumbles.

Another option is to understand that everything comes with a trade-off. Maybe the people behind the walls of that beautiful house worked all their lives for that home, and it is none of your darn business that God chose to bless the fruits of their labor in such a way. Or, perhaps, they sacrificed family and friends for material gain, and have many lovely things, but none of the riches of spirit that you have by virtue of your relationships or recovery. Bottom line, none of us know the whole story.

A possible third option here is to enjoy the lovely day and thank God for what you DO have and pray for those in the beautiful homes or cars or (fill-in-the-blank) that their intangible blessings are as rich as yours. Then, you will have released yourself from the chains of covetousness or envy, for good.

Much Love ❤