Ask God to give you joy when other ministries succeed. Ask God to free you from coveting their success. See their success as kingdom success, and remind yourself that we all work for the same master.

There’s something in us that discounts our current circumstances: our lives, our location, our role, our life. We look at others and want more. It’s sin, of course, a direct violation of the tenth word:

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s. (Exodus 20:17)

I’m always struck by how comprehensive this command is. It goes into detail, because our hearts covet in detail. I’m also struck by how often we break this command without even noticing — even, maybe especially, pastors.

They Look So Good

Studies suggest that spending goes up with social media consumption. We see how others live, and we expect that we should be able to keep up.

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