My heart sank as I read the article title on my computer screen. Why hadn’t I thought of that idea? Of course the author wrote a stellar piece. Again. I sighed. I couldn’t even bring myself to read it.
Jealousy weaved its way through my body like a viper’s bite. I knew better than to compare myself. But the poison was already doing its awful work. Sure we weren’t in competition with each other. But somehow, I felt inadequate in every possible way.
Anger boiled inside my heart like a tea kettle. I was trying so hard to be good enough. But I perpetually found myself falling short. Rather than keeping my eyes on the next right step, I was digressing into despair. And this path led nowhere but down.
When we start playing the comparison game or feel we aren’t getting what we think we should, we land ourselves in a heap of discontentment—and create the perfect storm for bitterness to take root in our hearts.
The psalmist reminds us that when jealousy and selfish ambition rears its ugly head, we should take the path of humility. Sometimes in our striving, we can miss out on the most important gift of all: trust and joy in the Lord.
Read the full devotion on MARKINC.