Will I Choose Comparison or Contentment?

In Ecclesiastes 6:9 I read, “It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else.” (GNT)

The first step to becoming a contented person is to stop comparing myself to others. The problem is that comparison is a favorite pastime! I do it all the time.

I walk into somebody’s house, and the first thing I do is make comparisons: “I like that floor! Look at that drapery! Wow, what a television!” I think to yourself, “My house doesn’t look anything like this!” Or I walk past somebody and think, “I like the way they look; I look terrible today.”

I am constantly comparing, and this will frustrate me. I’ve got to stop it! If I’m going to learn contentment, I’ve got to stop comparing my life to everyone else’s.

I also must learn to admire without having to acquire. I need to learn to rejoice in other people’s prosperity without getting envious and feeling like I need it too.

Here’s a great principle that many people don’t understand: I don’t have to own it to enjoy it! Maybe I like to vacation at the beach. Why do you have to buy a beach villa when I can just rent or even borrow one for the one time a year when I go to there? 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 I grasp something so tightly that I can’t let it go. If God ever gives me something and he tells me to give it away and I can’t, then I don’t own it—it owns me.

God is not saying I should never desire anything. Desires are not wrong. In fact, many of my desires come from God. But when a desire is uncontrolled, it becomes coveting; I compare myself to others and think I must have more. That uncontrolled desire for something that is not mine is sinful and leads to all kinds of problems.

But desire isn’t always negative. In fact, nothing can be accomplished unless I desire to do it. I can’t become more like Christ without desiring to become more like Christ. I can’t be a more loving person without desiring to be a more loving person. I 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 I learn not to compare. When I compare, that leads to coveting, and when I covet, I 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).

In summary, The first step to becoming a contented person is to stop comparing myself to others. The first thing I do is make comparisons. I am constantly comparing, and this will frustrate me. If I’m going to learn contentment, I’ve got to stop comparing my life to everyone else’s. Learn to admire without having to acquire. Learn to rejoice in other people’s prosperity without getting envious and feeling like I need it too. I don’t have to own it to enjoy it! I can just rent or even borrow one for the one time a year when I go there? Not making comparisons isn’t just a good idea—it’s a commandment from God. Coveting is the uncontrolled desire to acquire. The word covet in Greek means that I grasp something so tightly that I can’t let it go. If God ever gives me something and he tells me to give it away and I can’t, then I don’t own it—it owns me. When a desire is uncontrolled, it becomes coveting; I compare myself to others and think I must have more. That uncontrolled desire for something that is not mine is sinful and leads to all kinds of problems. But desire isn’t always negative. A contented life only happens when I learn not to compare. When I compare, that leads to coveting, and when I covet, I can’t be content. Ecclesiastes says it simply: “It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else”.

Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.