Your Choice: Comparison or Contentment By Rick Warren
“It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else.”Ecclesiastes 6:9 (GNT)
The first step to becoming a contented person is to stop comparing yourself to others. But the problem is that comparison is our favorite pastime! We do it all the time.
You walk into somebody’s house, and the first thing you do is make comparisons: “I like that floor! Look at that drapery! Wow, what a television!” You think to yourself, “My house doesn’t look anything like this!” Or you walk past somebody and think, “I like the way she did her hair; mine looks terrible today.”
You are constantly comparing, and it keeps you frustrated. You’ve got to stop it! If you’re going to learn contentment, you’ve got to stop comparing your life to everyone else’s.
You also have to learn to admire without having to acquire. You need to learn to rejoice in other people’s prosperity without getting envious and feeling like you need it too.
Here’s a great principle that many people don’t understand: You don’t have to own it to enjoy it! Maybe you like to vacation in the mountains. Why do you have to buy a mountain cabin when you can just rent or even borrow a friend’s cabin the one time a year you go to the mountains? Ownership isn’t the only way to enjoy something.
Not making comparisons isn’t just a good idea; it’s a commandment from God. Exodus 20:17 says, “You shall not covet . . . anything that belongs to your neighbor” (NIV).
Coveting is the uncontrolled desire to acquire. It’s such an important sin to avoid that it’s included in the Ten Commandments. The word covet in Greek means that you grasp something so tightly that you can’t let it go. If God ever gives you something and he tells you to give it away and you can’t, then you don’t own it; it owns you.
God is not saying you should never desire anything. Desires are not wrong. In fact, many of your desires come from God. But when a desire is uncontrolled, it becomes coveting; you compare yourself to others and think you must have more. That uncontrolled desire for something that is not yours is sinful and leads to all kinds of problems.
But desire isn’t always negative. In fact, nothing can be accomplished unless you desire to do it. You can’t become more like Christ without desiring to become more like Christ. You can’t be a more loving person without desiring to be a more loving person. You can’t be a more generous person without desiring to be a more generous person.
This kind of Christ-like, contented life only happens when you learn not to compare. When you compare, that leads to coveting, and when you covet, you can’t be content.
The book of Ecclesiastes says it simply: “It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else” (Ecclesiastes 6:9 GNT).
Rick Warren is an innovative pastor, renowned author, and global influencer known for founding Saddleback Church, the Purpose Driven Network, the PEACE Plan, and Hope for Mental Health. He has written several best-selling books, including The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold over 35 million copies in 200 languages. Time magazine named Warren the most influential spiritual leader in America and one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Since stepping down from the lead pastor role at Saddleback in 2022, Warren has continued to inspire people through his Daily Hope Devotional and podcast Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope. His first book in a decade, Created to Dream, was released in April 2023.
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Your Gift Brings Hope to the World
You’re Helping Share God’s Love with Others
Thank you for being part of this opportunity to help more people experience the truth of God’s love—and begin sharing that hope with others.
Your gift will be matched through June 30 by a $50,000 Matching Grant, helping reach even more people with the Good News.
*All gifts will be doubled up to the full amount of the grant. Thank you for your generous support!
*The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of “current offer” materials you received from Daily Hope.
