The Cost Of Fulfilled Longings
Why do we sometimes wish we were someone else or had what they have? We want to trade places with others because we think the grass is greener where they are. For some reason, we don’t adequately appreciate what we have.
I knew two wonderful Christian men. While neither belittled what they had, nevertheless, they sometimes longed for what they saw the other had which they lacked. It was not envy. They were happy for the other and wished them well. Yet, the single man wanted a happy marriage like that of his friend while the friend desired the professional success of the single man.
I greatly admired both these men. The last thing I want to do is suggest they were ungrateful or spiritually weak. They were neither. They were simply human. As humans, we can be so easily lured into getting our focus off our blessings and onto our unfulfilled hopes. The result? “Desire unfulfilled is discouraging” (Proverbs 13:12).
We must persistently work hard to keep our focus on that which will keep us grateful. Jesus focused on the benefit, not the suffering (Hebrews 12:2). We must do likewise. This is not easy. We all fail in this. It is so very easy to see the glass as being half-empty instead of it being half-filled.
Each of us must bear his own cross. Suffering is appointed for every one of us. We may see what looks to be the blessing of another but have no idea what cross may be involved in having that blessing. Let us be grateful for what we have.
Comforting others is costly but worth it.