Is the Grass Really Greener?

 

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.

Praise the Lord or Pass the Loot

PTL!

Those from the Charlotte area know first-hand what those letters mean, or meant. There was a couple of evangelists on a television show called The PTL Television Network. Jim and Tammy Faye. Remember when those t-shirts were popular around Charlotte, the “I ran into Tammy Faye at the mall”. It was a plain shirt with what appeared to be rubbed-off make-up in the image of a woman’s face. Tammy Faye Bakker wore a lot of make-up and cried a lot on tv. The network was just taking off when we moved to Charlotte. Years later, the group bought a large piece of land down in Fort Mill, South Carolina, just over the border from North Carolina. The plan was to build a massive resort with a shopping mall and amusement park. Their television show would be broadcast by satellite from here as well. This new location was called Heritage USA. Their ministry was a great success and pulled in millions of dollars. Anytime you tuned in to the show, they were asking for money. Send in your money and good things will happen to you. Some teased that PTL stood for Pass the Loot. I’m sure the ministry did do some good, but their use of wealth was troublesome. I remember going to see fabulous fireworks there on the 4^th of July. The Christmas lights were something to see too. You could drive through the property and see such bright colorful lights all around you. I couldn’t help but wonder how much money was being spent on those lights and the electricity for them night after night. Shouldn’t that money have been used to help people in need instead? To make a long story short, there ended up being a huge scandal involving money, taxes, and a woman. PTL fell and fell hard. Jim and Tammy Faye divorced and Jim went to prison for a while. (Tammy Faye died from cancer in 2007). Jim Bakker discovered the truth of the Bible while in prison. He realized he had led many people away from the true gospel. Jim Bakker remarried and is back at evangelism apparently. While PTL was a massive turn-off to Christianity for me in its glory days, the bigger picture can now be seen. Anyone can sin, and sin big time. No one is immune to the temptations of money, fame, sex, power, prestige, etc. God used PTL to expose false teachings and destroyed its empire. It took being in prison for Bakker to come to terms with what he had done and to seek God’s forgiveness. The Bible teaches that when you confess your sins (admit what you did wrong), and turn completely away from those sins (stop doing them), that you will be forgiven. What Jesus did on the cross makes that possible. And when we put our faith and trust in Him, He helps us to walk on the right path. Bakker has been forgiven by God, and given a second chance to tell the good news of the gospel. If someone like Jim Bakker can be forgiven and restored by God, then so can we.  And that is good news.