By Katy Mariotti

The Thief of Joy

“But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.”
Galatians 6:4, English Standard Version

I have a confession for you: this morning I got a speeding ticket.  One of my first thoughts upon receiving the ticket was “this is so unfair!”  You see, I am a major rule follower.  I am the opposite of a rebel.  Caution is my middle name.  You get the picture?  I almost never speed.  In this particular case, I was in an area where the speed limit goes from 30 to 50, and I must have started accelerating a little too early.

I thought of all the people who go flying past me on the interstate.  I thought of the cars I yell at who go speeding past my house where the speed limit is 15 and my kids are playing.  Why me?  Why not the people who blatantly flaunt the rules while I’m usually so careful?

What’s ironic about these thoughts is that I’ve just been talking to my son about the same thing.  “Why does my sister get more cereal than me?  Why doesn’t she have to clean up?”  I tell him to stop comparing.  I try to point out that he doesn’t always know the whole story: that his sister had about the same amount of cereal and there’s no way I’m going to count out each individual cereal piece.  That she DID clean up and anyway, most of the toys that were out were his.

There’s a common phrase that says “comparison is the thief of joy.”  This is so true!  There have even been psychological studies done that prove it. More importantly though, not comparing is a Biblical premise.  In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, as quoted above, he encourages them to test their OWN work, not compare it to others.  And it’s something we all need to work on because we don’t live in a vacuum, we live in a society, where no matter how good we may have it, there will always be someone who has it seemingly better than us.  So what can we do?

In the case of my speeding ticket, I tried to remember to do a few things:

1. Take responsibility.  Sure, I don’t speed 95% of the time.  I’m a rule follower.  But was I speeding in this case?  Yep.  It doesn’t matter that other people do it worse, I was still breaking the law.
2. Be grateful.  Here’s another confession for you: this is actually my first ticket ever, for speeding or anything else.  I’ve been pulled over a couple times  for things like having a tail light out, but I always came away with just a warning.  So I am grateful that this is my first ticket at age 43!  I’m also grateful that I was safe in my car despite going too fast.
3. Trust God!  We don’t always know why things happen, but God sure does.  And we need to trust the plans He has for us, just like it says in Jeremiah:
   

   “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
   Jeremiah 29:11, ESV

I pray today that we can practice responsibility, gratitude, and trust, and not let comparison steal our joy in the Lord!

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado