Killing Comparison

Today, more than ever, being content in life can be really difficult. Social media has given us many great benefits but one of the negative side effects of social media is that we compare ourselves with others more than ever before. It's hard to feel content when you are constantly comparing your real life with pictures of people's highly edited lives online. What can we do to kill the comparison in our lives and recover contentment so that we will feel more satisfied with our lives? Craig Groeschel offers us three great tips:

1.) We can kill the temptation to be envious of others by taking a break from social media or by avoiding certain accounts that we know tend to trigger our envy.

2.) We can choose to celebrate the blessings in other people's lives. We can choose to celebrate with those who celebrate, rather than to envy what they have. We control our own emotions, our emotions don't control us (unless we let them).

3.) We can cultivate gratitude. The more we learn to thank God for what he has already given us in life the more our envy and discontentment in life will fade away. The definition of envy that Craig mentions is powerful: "Envy is resenting God's goodness in other people's lives, and ignoring his goodness in your own."

Gratitude is the best medicine

It's very hard to make decisions based on love if your heart has become hard and full of bitterness. The lack of gratitude hardens a heart, so the best medicine for getting cured from bitterness and discontentment is gratitude. When we thank God for something and choose to put our trust in him it softens our hearts so that we are open to love again.

Changes in life can be incredibly painful, often even more painful if we fight against it. On the other hand change also has the ability to open us up, to open life up, and to get us to where we needed to be. When life is great, say thank you and celebrate! When life is bitter, say thank you and grow.