Count your blessings (and not others')!

Had a small talk -chat actually, with a friend the other day. Somehow, the chats went to the job and salary topic. Then come the comparison, on how friends of our 'generation' have reached the 'peak' of their career, or how some people are so lucky, getting there even faster than most of their cohort group. That was when we compared our lives with their lives, our salary to their salary, of how small ours is, mine in particular, which is only a half or even a third of most of my cohort have when they are in my age. Then it came to when I envied my friend she envied mine, -I described why I thought she's luckier and has more prestigious position and she described how I'm luckier and has more prestigious position. After the arguments went on, we realized that we did something funny: envy each other! Then came into a conclusion: people do tend to see others as more successful than they do, or have more money than they do, or luckier than them. We thought it over and we agreed that 'grass is always greeener in the other side' is indeed true. We desired what belongs to another, the definition of covet, it is.

Well, it's when I remember that it is exactly what God said, in the Ten Commandment, the 10th rule: 

"thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's".

Then I started to roll over to review the days of my life. Have I ever been in need, deprived of anything material? Certainly not. My Lord God is the God that always provide me with His blessings sufficiently, or even abundantly. I've never been that rich, but I've never been that poor either. I've been able to lend money to those in crisis, able to give a hand to others in need, always afford to give my tithe and I've always lived in relatively good environment (again, not luxury, but not deprived certainly), and still have even more to travel around and hang out with friends. I rarely looked at myself as someone lacking money or blessings, when it comes to material or money. God has never never hold His blessings from me. When this thought came to my mind, I felt a bit guilty. Feeling guilty for looking at my friends whose salary is double or even triple my current salary (they are nice people I know, and I feel thankful for them too). Feeling guilty for looking at my friends whose career are brighter than mine. And for comparing their blessings with mine. 

I suddenly thought, if I were God, I must be upset, and I will ask back to people like me: 

a.) Have you ever been deprived materially, in your life? 

b) Have you ever found it difficult to buy food? 

c) Have you ever not been given shelter to put your head on to sleep at nights of your life? 

d) Have you ever found it difficult to help those in need with your money? 

If the answer is NO for all the questions, then, there simply supposed to be NO question at all about blessings. So, it's probably just the problem of envy. Envy is poisonous. And to cure my soul from the poison, there is one, among others, antidote: I was asked, to count my blessings (and not others'). And feel contented about it. And feel grateful about it. 

Happy Sunday everyone!