Friday Fight 103: The "Other" Story

Every Friday, when I wake and pray, God places something on my heart to help me fight darkness beginning in our minds. Today is FF103.

How often do we look at the lives of others and immediately feel like they have it all together, unlike us? One day we feel confident in who we are as a parent, child, co-worker, or even as a Christian, but then something quickly changes, and our minds begin to question things. How many times do we end up comparing ourselves to the things we see, and what can we do to stop it?

The "Other" Story:

When time permits, many of us are scrolling social media for the reason that only makes sense to us. Some of us utilize it to remain connected, combat loneliness, or escape from reality. But a select few may have an addiction, which I'll save for another post. So you get the point; some of us are rarely on social media, while others know everything about everyone because of the time spent mindlessly scrolling.

So, in our time viewing multiple stories and posts, we see the perfect vacation, the new car, the lovely house, and beautiful family photos. How are we positioning our hearts, and how quickly do we compare ourselves to the stories of others? We don't know what is happening behind the camera because only the highlights are shared. Yet, it can send us into a comparison spiral that leads to envy. Perhaps these great things we envy result only from countless private sacrifices, yet our words shape sentences like, "It must be nice" or "I wonder how much that cost?" Instead of celebrating the accomplishments of others, our thoughts instantly shift to selfish ones. James warns us of harboring bitter envy and selfish ambition because it is worldly, not of God. James 3:16 says that where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

Comparing ourselves to others is a sin and opens the door to envy. How can we ever compare the lives or possessions of others from one picture or post we know nothing about? Maybe the beautiful car is barely manageable while the house hides depression or abuse. The car or seemingly extravagant vacation could also be a blessing or gift we know little about and does not concern us. To envy means you wish to possess what another has. It can be a job, a position, or a possession. The filtered photo of the Caribbean might be to hide the lines of hurt, judgment, or dysfunction. Perhaps we should be looking at how God has blessed us and not the perceived position of others. I've watched numerous family photos captured but orchestrated by screaming, which brought each person to the perfect illusion we see. The point is there is always "another" story.

Darkness operates solely to bring us misery. The sin of envy, wanting what another has, will invoke an emotional response of irritation or resentment. The problem with envy is it's a self-fulfilling lie. When we want what another person has, we also believe the lie that their possessions or position will bring us the happiness we feel we are lacking. But Christ is the only and true source of joy. Being envious causes a division between ourselves and the ones we envy, and most importantly, it draws our focus away from God.

If we want to compare ourselves, do so with the story of Christ. Instead of looking at the stories of others, let's consider the possibility of all the stories we know nothing about and give God our focus. Since we have all walked in envy at some point, the best way to release this is at the cross with humility. Prayer and repentance diminish to what extent darkness can expose our fear and insecurities with the illusion of what we believe will make life better. Instead, with excitement, let's welcome the opportunity to see God's purpose for creating us and pray about fulfilling those purposes.

What is God calling us to do? Let's focus on how we can use the gifts He has given each of us to impact those around us for His kingdom.

Pastor Shannon

New Life Calvert