Your Grass is Greener Than You Think

We have all heard the phrase, “The grass is always greener on the other side.” People use this phrase to make comparisons of their lives to the lifestyles of others. Often, people make dreadful mistakes, such as comparing their marriages to their friends’ relationships. People often compare their children with other people’s kids. Men who hate their jobs are always looking at other people and wishing they could trade places. Women often compare their appearance to other women, aspiring to be more like the glamorous figure pictured in the fashion magazine. Even Americans who have been blessed, as no other people in the world, complain about conditions here in the States. I’ve often wondered if it’s so much better everywhere else, then why is everybody climbing over walls and fences to come to America while nobody is straining themselves to leave? 

People go through their entire lives with the attitude that the “grass is so much greener on the other side.” I have concluded that someone always has it better than me in almost every aspect of life. Just when I think my lawn is up for yard of the month, my neighbor puts just a little more fertilizer on his, and boom, he gets the ribbon. Just as I get off the bathroom scales to celebrate my incredible weight loss, my friend at work signs up for a triathlon. Just when I think my kid might actually hit the ball into center field and make it all the way to first base, the kid batting after him hits the ball over the fence. 

What if we stopped to reevaluate the way we look at our lives? What if we paused and truly reflected on just how green our grass really is? What would happen if we pondered the fact that even though we can think of folks who have it a bit better than we do, there are others in our sphere of influence who are far worse off than we are. What would happen if we reflected less on what we don’t have and more on what God has so bountifully bestowed upon us? Is it possible that more marriages would stay together? Is it possible that more preachers would stay at their present congregations? 

Paul was very much aware of the human condition. A condition born out of thanklessness. Paul certainly could have travelled through life, fulminating at everyone he encountered. Yet, he reminds us in his letter written from a jail cell to the church at Philippi to be content whatever the circumstances. Paul is simply reminding us that in times of great peril we can all experience an inner peace, even when physical provisions are lacking. Paul goes on to say these comforting words in Philippians 4:12, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty” (NIV used throughout). He then refers to discovering a great secret to living a life of fulfillment despite his circumstances. It’s contentment. Anthony Ash writes, “Paul had an inner peace even without physical provisions.” 

David reminds us in Psalm 23:2 that the Good Shepherd, “makes me lie down in green pastures.” In Phillip Keller’s book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, he states, “In Palestine, where David wrote this Psalm and kept his father’s flocks, it is dry, brown, and a sun-burned wasteland. Green pastures did not just happen by chance. Green pastures were the product of tremendous labor, time, and skill in land use.” In other words, the shepherd made what was once barren usable. God has taken great pains in making sure His flock is cared for. My friend, look down. The grass you are standing on is much greener than you think. 

Roger Campbell, in his book Staying Positive in a Negative World, writes, “Ruining a marriage is easy. All you have to do is accentuate the negative.” That is true in every aspect of life. Always look for ways to complain and find no time to praise. If you think about it, there is always a church with more bells and whistles just down the street. There is always another job where you can make more money. There are better friends to have, better clothes to purchase, and a car that looks and drives way better than the vehicle you are presently driving. But what if we, like Paul, begin looking at everything through the lens of thankfulness, not comparison? 

I love the way Roger Campbell puts it, “Can you imagine being completely under God’s control and still being controlled by negative thoughts with their unpleasant manifestations of criticism, bitterness, complaining, depression, and despair? Impossible! Spirit-filled people walk on higher ground.” Translated: the ground and the grass underneath their feet are far more stable and, in fact, greener. 

I am determined, like Shammah the great warrior in 2 Samuel 23: 11-12, to fight for “a field full of lentils” where “Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the Lord brought about a great victory.” 

Let’s resolve to take joy in, fight for, and be thankful for, the grass God has permitted us to walk on every day. Let’s stop looking over the proverbial fence at everyone else’s bean patch and thank God daily for the field He has provided us. When we begin to view life through the lens of thankfulness and contentment, it won’t be long before our families, our church, our jobs, and our communities begin to look at them far less critically and with more love and respect. Why? Because even if they look the same, we will look at them differently. Stand up for your spouse and children. Defend your church. Love the town God has permitted you to live in. Pray for your neighbors daily. Why? Because it’s the grass that covers your lentil field, and that field has great memories and moments that will last a lifetime. Don’t throw away today because you are always pondering tomorrow. Don’t allow the lure of someone else’s fortune to eclipse the blessings God has permitted you to have and enjoy. 

Just when you have run out of ways to complain about your car, take a hard look at the mom with three kids standing at the bus stop. When you get angry with God because you can’t play on the church softball team because your legs don’t move fast enough anymore, look long and hard at the guy struggling to get into his wheelchair. When your heating goes out right in the middle of a major cold front, just know a guy is preparing to sleep on a park bench. When you look at the amount of money you’ve expended over the years to get your kid through private school, braces, and gymnastics, just note a couple is kneeling next to a tombstone where a child taken early in life lays. When we put life into proper perspective, then the grass we are presently standing on seems so much greener.  

And don’t ever forget: just when you think the other guy’s grass is greener, look carefully. The grass is always greener over the septic tank.