“WE’VE ALL HEARD THE EXPRESSION ‘THE GRASS IS GREENER’ ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE. BUT DO YOU KNOW THE TRUTH IS OUT – IT IS GREENER!”

 I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word & You! Broadcast and in a moment we’ll talk about green grass and the truth behind it all…

…Our world, especially our nation, the United States , thrives on one important thing. It is the simple word – competition! Yes, at the core of humanity is our competitive nature. I think this is especially true among men more than women. We love to win and more, we hate to lose. But do you know that competition is really an issue of “contentment” more than any pursuit of victory, for we don’t want our competition to possess what we don’t have. Can you relate to that? However, consider this. If God has placed you where He wants you to be and given you what He wants you to have, then perhaps we need to learn to be content and not judge ourselves by what others have. I’m struck by the fact that this competition often is felt most keenly in our homes and neighborhoods, especially as the summer months are almost here.

As spring came, I’ve watched the grass grow again, and like my neighbor’s I’ve fertilized, weeded, planted new seed and watered my lawn to get the greenest grass I can. But do you know what? The grass seems to always be greener for my neighbors than for me. Ha! I’m sure you can relate to that, but guess what I’ve learned – the GRASS “IS” GREENER! Yes, according to James Pomerantz in a scientific article “The Grass is Always Greener - An Ecological Analysis of an Old Saying”[1] (Perception 1983), optical and perceptual laws alone can make the neighbor’s lawn look greener than the blades of grass perpendicular to the ground that one looks down upon in his own yard. So the old adage is really true! To our naked eyes, our neighbor’s grass is greener. Well that’s a comfort, I guess, to some of us who work hard at maintaining a good looking lawn for our home and neighborhoods. Yet this intrigued me, for in the Bible this competitive spirit and desire to have the better of others is a matter of “contentment.” In another moment after this musical pause, I’ll talk with you about the subject of contentment and another truth for the believer in Jesus Christ too…

 “Contentment” – what a word, that so many of us often fail to grasp due to our competitive spirit and quest to have the better of our neighbors and friends. Do you know the Bible has much to say about this personal quality of character? For instance, we read in Scripture,

Prov 19:23 (NIV)  The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

Phil 4:11-13 (NIV)  “… I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation…”

It appears that God speaks about the need for His children to learn to be content with what He allows us to have in our lives, by our work and willingness to serve Him. Yet, contentment is something our society teaches us, what we are not to have. Through the heavy pressure of advertising, and teaching in our schools of humanistic thought and philosophy, we are encouraged to always strive to get more, better and bigger! And of course, it is hard to find contentment in your life when we are always spending much time looking at your neighbor and what he might have above you. Now, when a Christian does this, he or she lose sight of the fact that God is in control of their lives and the real blessings one has is eclipsed by the light of our neighbor’s blessings. Do you know that is one of the Devil’s tools to bring discontent in the heart of God’s children? Yet the Bible warns us to be careful in such areas. I think of the Old Testament king who had everything yet, bemoaned it was not enough. Soon upon achieving much of his quest for the good things in life, he discovered it was deceptive and did not bring him the happiness and contentment he sought. Listen to wise King Solomon in his old age when he declared,

Eccl 1:1-3 (NLT)  These are the words of the Teacher, King David's son, who ruled in Jerusalem . 2 "Everything is meaningless," says the Teacher, "utterly meaningless!" 3 What do people get for all their hard work?

Eccl 4:8 (NIV)  There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. "For whom am I toiling," he asked, "and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?" This too is meaningless-- a miserable business!

Indeed King Solomon who had everything wrote the book of Ecclesiastes as a lament of life of vanity. “Everything is meaningless,” lamented Solomon, “all is vanity!” as our King James translation puts it. Yes, Solomon liked that word “meaningless”; he used it thirty-eight times in Ecclesiastes as he wrote about life “under the sun.” The Hebrew word  “HEBEL,” means “emptiness, futility, vapor, that which vanishes quickly and leaves nothing behind.”

From a human point of view, life “under the sun” appears futile; and, it is easy for any of us to get pessimistic. The American poet Carl Sandburg compared life to “an onion—you peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep.” I’m sure most of us can enter into such thinking. In fact, I must confess to you, early on in my own life, I came to the same conclusion that King Solomon speaks of. I strived hard to find happiness in the material things of life. I worked hard and spend long hours to amass these “things,” which I assumed would bring me happiness. It wasn’t long though before I found them to be miserable companions and only fleetingly accomplished this in my life. Yet, I thank God that through my meaningless quest to find satisfaction in the toys and trinkets of humanity, I found that happiness wasn’t there. This prepared me to seek and find God’s better source of happiness and joy in Jesus Christ.

However, the Bible is full of advice for the seeker of such happiness and contentment. Let’s define this word, and see where it leads us today in our study of God and His Word for life and living.

First of all, the word and concept of “contentment,” what is it? I find it is “a state of mind in which one’s desires are satisfactorily confined to our lot in life, whatever it may be.” Paul the apostle of Christ wrote,

1 Tim 6:6 (NIV)  But godliness with contentment is great gain.

2 Cor 9:8 (NIV)  And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

In the Bible we easily discover that contentment is the opposite of envy (James 3:16 ), avarice (Heb. 13:5), ambition (Prov. 13:10 ), anxiety (Matt. 6:25 , 34), and dissatisfaction (1 Cor. 10:10 ).

James 3:16 (NIV)  For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

Heb 13:5 (NIV)  Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

Mat 6:25 (NIV)  "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

Mat 6:34 (NIV)  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

1 Cor 10:10 (NIV)  And do not grumble, as some of them did--and were killed by the destroying angel.

It is without doubt, that God wants His children to learn to accept life with what it deals out to us, as the permissive hand of God. Indeed, can we really have anything or lack thereof that God hasn’t ordained for the life of a believer? The Bible says,

Acts 17:28 (NIV)  "'For in Him [God]  we live and move and have our being.'

 Now getting back to talking about grass and the fact that it always appears to be greener for our neighbor, the fact is for the believer in comparison to his unsaved neighbor, ours is the greenest of all! Scripture says explicitly,

1 Tim 6:6 (NIV)  But godliness with contentment is great gain.

 Or somewhat paraphrased it might read like the New Century Version translation puts it,

1 Tim 6:6 (NCV)  Serving God does make us very rich, if we are satisfied with what we have.

There is an old Chinese proverb that quite biblical. It states: “to be content is to be happy.” Likewise God’s Word says,

Psa 37:16 (NIV)  Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked;

 Now I’m not advocating we take a vow of poverty to be spiritual and blessed by God. The Bible tells us that God gave great wealth and possessions to a number of men in the Bible, and they used it to glorify God. However, I am advocating we need to stop the relentless quest for bigger and better things, and concentrate on being bigger and better at living for God and Christ.

When life is over what really will count? Will it be the great career we had, the trinkets of life we amassed along the way, the fame and fortunes we labored hard to gain? The answer is none of these! What a relief to turn from these pessimistic views Solomon shared, and hear the Lord Jesus Christ who said,

John 10:10 (NIV)  “… I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Or to read of the apostle Paul’s great declaration,

1 Cor 15:58 (NIV)  Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Indeed, life is “not in vain” or meaningless, provided it is lived for Jesus Christ and the will of God.  Moses the great servant of the Lord wrote one a psalm and said,

Psa 90:12 (NIV)  Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

He realized that in spite of all things around him, the most important of all is to be in a right relationship with God the creator of life and sustainer of eternity. That brings me to ask you, my friend, are you in a right relationship with God? What I’m asking is this. Do you know for sure if you were to die today that you would go to Heaven and be with God for all eternity? That’s not a frivolous question but one that every person needs to answer. God has told us in His Word that we are the direct creation of an omnipotent sovereign God, who created all things and especially humanity for His pleasure and joy. In the process, His highest creatures, humanity, can find its deepest joy, highest satisfaction, fullest peace and contentment by being rightly related to God now and for eternity.

How can one discover this and know for sure? The Bible says,

1 John 5:13 (NIV)  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Imagine that! God says one can “know” for sure, that they can have eternal life  ¾  not when you die but here on earth, right now! And, Jesus said He is the way and path to obtain that here and now.

John 10:10 (NIV)  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

John 14:6 (NIV)  Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Maybe it’s time to stop complaining, or pining over what your neighbor has and realize that if you are a Christian today, you are rich above all human standards to have God as your Savior and friend. Abraham, the great Old Testament friend of God and servant of the Lord, one day asked God what riches he would have, and God answered,

Gen 15:1 (NIV)  After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward."

Did you catch that? What was Abraham’s greatest wealth and possession? It was nothing in this life that could be tangibly touched, handled or bought and sold. Rather, it was a relationship with God, which the Bible offers to any and all who will come to God through Jesus Christ, confessing their sins and calling upon Him to save them.

Yes, God is in the business of making us rich beyond all measure but these riches are not earthly, rather heavenly, and they are more real and useful that anything else. This is why the apostle Paul could say.

Phil 4:11-13 (NIV)  I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

So my advice to all today, is (1) make sure you are in a right relationship to God, by trusting alone in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, (2) feel richly blessed because of this, that God has given you His greatest gift, the forgiveness of your sins, the power to live above them, the presence of His Holy Spirit who indwells all believers, and His fantastic gift of eternal life that begins here and now and never ends which is wealth beyond measure!

Therefore stop complaining or obsessing over what you don’t have, or want and need, and believe that God loves you and will bless you fully with what He knows you need rather than what you think you need.

As to your neighbor’s greener grass, maybe it is, but if so, be happy for him and never envious. Stop the “competition” treadmill and get off and start enjoying the Lord who saved you, and serve Him with all your heart. Amazing enough, that is the conclusion wise King Solomon came to after reflecting on the vanity and meaningless of life without God. He said,

Eccl 12:13 (NIV)  Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

Dr. Warren Wiersbe, a great bible teacher, has written in his little commentary,” WITH THE WORD,[2]  a little test for us all to take.  He begins by asking: “What are your days like at your stage in life?

I. ARE THEY DAYS OF DECLINE? -  In verses (1–8) of Ecclesiastes, Solomon makes one last plea: make use of your opportunities while you can, before you get old and the storms of old age come.

II. ARE THEY Days of learning? – In verses (9–12) He states, listen to what God says and be admonished, no matter how old you are. You are never too old to get wiser—or to act like a fool! You can read many books about many subjects, but major on understanding God’s Word and living a life of wisdom. His words are like nails: you can depend on them. They are goads: they prod you to do His will. Last,

III. Are they Days of obedience? – In verses (13–14), Solomon advises, if you fear God, you need fear nothing else; you are safe in the Father’s will. So live that God could publish a book about you and you would not be ashamed for the whole world to read it. Live with eternity in view, and the ravages of time will not distress you.”

Indeed that’s good advice. Now, the truth for the believer in Christ, the “grass is the greenest” of all for those who are saved from their sins. Our lives, watered by God tears of love, will never fade or falter; our sins covered by the blood death of Christ on the cross, our lives are forever forgiven ¾ and that is the greatest source of contentment one can ever have! Indeed, Heaven is a beautiful place for the contented, and Jesus said “I’ve reserved a place there for you.” Listn to His wonderful words…

John 14:1-3 (NIV)  “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Oh yes, life can deal some awful blows to us. Our wealth can easily dry up, our health can too, but one thing will never run dry, the well of God’s love and provision for us all. It is my prayer that you have found this “contentment,” not in the things of life, but the Creator of all life, Jesus Christ. John the apostle writes,

John 1:1-3 (NIV)  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

You and I, we are the direct creation of God and because of this we find our greatest satisfaction and contentment in our relationship one to another. I thank God for this, above all else, and like Paul the apostle, I’m learning to be content in that as well. Say friend how about you?..

…Contentment is a beautiful thing God wants you to have. But you’ll not find it in this world apart from receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord God and Savior. Of course once you do, there is no promise God will make you rich in earthly treasures, or grant you an easy life. God’s greatest reward is the beauty of His fellowship and love, and His promise of eternal life and reward. My life’s verse is this,

Psa 16:11 (NIV)  You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

May the same be yours my friend and may the truth ever be known, the “grass is the greenest on heaven’s side,” and it awaits all who will enter by and through Jesus Christ.

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[1] “Checklist for Life” – the Ultimate Handbook, Thomas Nelson Publishers. Copyright 2002 GRI, Ink, Inc Franklin , TN 37067 .

[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1997, c1991). “With the Word” Bible Commentary. Nashville : Thomas Nelson.