This
past Sunday, or pastor used the phrase that we are all familiar with: “The
grass is always greener on the other side”.
He was talking about how Satan can deceive us into thinking there are
better things out there for us than what we already have. It got me thinking how that could play
out. You’ve got your yard. It looks okay, but as you are standing on your
grass you look over and notice that the neighbor across the street has what
appears to be a perfectly manicured lawn.
The color of the grass is just gorgeous.
You think to yourself, man how come my yard doesn’t look that good. I want my yard to be like that. I want that yard! You think, my yard is so boring and
dull. I really don’t like it
anymore. It starts to bother you more
and more. You keep seeing that perfect
yard every time you step out of your house.
Sometimes you even gaze at it from your window and imagine yourself over
there laying in that gorgeous grass on a sunny day. You can just imagine the smell of the freshly
cut grass. There is a statue with a fountain running from it. You imagine throwing a big party over on that
lawn and how happy you’d be and how proud you would be that it was your lawn
instead of the neighbor’s. Life would be
so much better over there.
One
day you decide to go for it. You leave
your yard and head over to the more perfect yard. But when you get there, you immediately
observe that you have stepped onto artificial grass. That grass is as fake as grandma’s
teeth. There’s no fresh-cut grass smell. You check the fountain. It’s made of cheap plastic and the water has
this brownish tint and odor to it. You
sure didn’t notice that from your yard.
And there are some nasty looking insects buzzing around. Now that you’re in this yard, you realize
that it’s not at all what you thought it would be, dreamed it would be. But it looked so good from a distance. James 1:14-15 says” but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is
dragged away and enticed. Then, after
desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown,
gives birth to death.”
Perhaps you are feeling bored with
your husband or wife. There’s a cute new
gal at work or hunky guy at the gym. You
might start imagining what your life would be like with that person. You start up a conversation. She’s so charming and friendly and has the
most interesting stories. She makes you
feel like you’re in high school or college again. Before you know it, you’ve gone there. It happens all the time, unfortunately. Marriages and families are destroyed because
someone thought the grass looked greener somewhere else. You traded in your wife for a newer model (as
they say). You left your husband for
someone more handsome or richer. But the
grass isn’t really greener. If you are
thinking about a trade-in, think again. That
hunky guy probably has a lot of baggage (like lots of ex-girlfriends), or
spends lots of money gambling, or has the wandering eye. That little gal at work might really be using
you to advance her own career, or will at some point, think you too old for her
and trade you in.
Take care of your own yard. Nurture it and enjoy it for what it is. So what if it’s not perfect. Neither are we. There is someone who can help us with our
struggles and help us to be content with what we have. Jesus can help us to resist looking elsewhere
for excitement and satisfaction. He can
also help mend broken hearts if you have one of those. 1 Peter 5:7 reminds us
that we can cast all our burdens on Him because He cares.
