When you gain a sense of satisfaction or peace in your life assuming the worst in someone else’s life, it’s not ok. That’s not real inner contentment or peace. When you see a snapshot of someone’s happiness on social media or otherwise, and you choose to dismiss it, assume the worse or focus on the possiblity that something could still be wrong — instead of celebrating or expressing some form of happiness for them, you’re being motivated by a spirit of jealousy and discontentment. Particularly, when you don’t know what’s behind their closed doors. In order for you to be ok with your own life, you have to assume the worst in someone else’s life.
Some of us need to learn contentment and how to have genuine happiness for others even when it’s not our turn. You don’t gain that by trying find reasons to dismiss someone else’s happiness and contentment. So… No! It’s not ok to feel better about your life assuming the worst about someone else’s. If that’s your method, you’ll only become more discontent with your own life and more critical and fault-finding of others.
When you look at someone else and choose to think the worse just to feel better about your own life, your heart is not in the right place. That mindset won’t bring you a sense of contentment with your life. It’ll only pull you deeper into your own unfruitful thinking.
What if that image someone shows of their own happiness is actually real? What if they really are as happy as they seem? What if they really do have a great relationship? Has your own discontentment convinced you that no one else can actually be happy with their lives since you aren’t?
Learning contentment is a journey you’ll have to go on by observing God in your life, not by observing others. Yes. It could always be worse for you and for others. But it could also be better for you. Just like it could be better for those you prefer to think the worse about. Being able to celebrate the happiness of another person, inspite of the lack of your own happiness, may be the key that unlocks the door to a change in how you feel about your own life. And that new attitude could be the key that opens the door to a change in your life.
*Tressa Jo
BeyondSeeLevel 