Practicing GratitudeExemplo

When you’re trying to fan your flame of gratitude, comparison douses it like a bucket of ice water. 

Comparison means looking at what someone else has and thinking about how much better or worse it is than what you have. It’s so dangerous that the 10th commandment warns against it. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17). 

Comparison sabotages two relationships at the same time: your relationship with God, and your relationship with other people. You can’t fully love others when you’re jealous of them or trying to outperform them. And you can’t love God when you think maybe God has given you a bad deal.

When you feel the urge to compare your lot in life with someone else’s, replace that thought with a prayer of gratitude. A good example comes from Psalm 16. “The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.” (Psalm 16:5–6). 

The writer of the psalm acknowledges God as the source of his provision. He declares that what God has given him is good. This is an antidote to comparison.

Practice: 

• Think about the last time you compared yourself to someone else or compared what you have to what someone else has.
• Thank God for blessing that person.
• Thank God for your lot in life – exactly the way it is right now. 
• Today when you notice yourself making a comparison, make a list of the good things that God has blessed you with in this area. 
• Before you go to bed tonight, do a comparison inventory. Ask yourself: Am I jealous of anyone else? Do I need to say “thank you, God” for what I have?

Prayer: God, thank you for setting boundaries around what is mine. I am grateful for the lot you’ve given me. Be my proof against envy and unhappiness. Amen.

Further Exploration: Read this reflection on loving other people without jealousy .