Greener

My uncle has a saying he likes: “The grass is greener where you water it.” I like that too.

Sometimes we look around us and think, “That person has it so easy. I’d be content with half of what they have,” whether that be in terms of career, family, or possessions.

We usually don’t see the sacrifices made to achieve the career or the tears shed in the efforts of making the family. We look and think, “They have what I want,” without pausing to notice the burden they’re carrying. Everyone has their own struggles.

All of these sinful tendencies go directly against the tenth commandment: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” (Exodus 20:17).

Instead, Scripture calls us to be content with what God has given us. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:17 “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.”

Live the life you’ve been called to.

Sometimes we are called to pursue different seasons of life, but wherever God has us, we can work faithfully and be good stewards of the resources He’s given to us.

As we strive for faithfulness in our daily lives – serving our neighbor, lovingly speaking truth, pursuing righteousness – may we give God all the glory for the fruit produced in our lives and the blessings we enjoy. He is the Giver of all good things, as well as the One who brings plans to fruition. Sometimes He uses His people to sow, plant, and water, but it is God who gives the growth.

As you work to cultivate a life that pleases the Lord, you’ll learn to appreciate what you have. You’ll learn to see the beauty of what’s right before you, especially when you see it through the lens of a heart of praise to the Creator.

If we diligently sit at Jesus’ feet and apply Scripture’s wisdom to our lives,

if we listen to the prompts of the Holy Spirit,

if we learn to serve where God has us today,

the grass really will be greener right where we water it.

It takes a lot of strength to keep watering, but God provides that to. So “… let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9).

© Grace Baeten