DO NOT be jealous.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

John 16:33

Today, I was scanning Facebook like an addict, and I saw a lovely gal's post. This sweet girl bragged all about her manly, loving husband, and then at the bottom she wrote, "Girls, be jealous."

So, I know this girl doesn't literally want all other girls without a manly, loving husband to "be jealous" of her, and I know every time a girl uses this phrase (which unfortunately is quite often) they don't mean it in a literal way, but the thing is... a lot of us really do get jealous of this stuff and wonder why we don't have what these other girls have.

And we should not. We should not ever get jealous of anything anyone else has. Never. Ever.

One of my most favorite things C.S. Lewis wrote is this:

"I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of; for to have been thought about, born in God's thought, and then made by God is the dearest, grandest, and most precious thing in all thinking."

Sometimes, I get really jealous of the girl who lost 30 pounds or got ANOTHER new car, or the girl who buys all her clothes at boutiques and can eat a cheeseburger without thinking about it, or whose hair curls perfectly every day. Sometimes, I get jealous of clear skin and big white teeth or perfect highlights. It's simply human nature to want what other have, to envy their success, but the last thing we should feel about other people is jealous.

I often have to remind myself that everyone struggles. Everyone has issues, and most things are NOT as they seem. I have to remind myself of all the incredible things in my life, how God has brought me so far and filled my days with purpose and meaning. I have to remind myself that the sweet girl with a wonderful husband is so blessed to have him, but not more blessed than the single girl with an incredible ministry or job or family; not more blessed than you with your imperfections and your struggles and your crazy, messy, beautiful life.

Sometimes it's really hard to grasp and even harder to believe, but no matter how down you feel about yourself, no matter how bad things seem to be, there are people worse off than you. There are people struggling just like you. There are people who feel the same way you do. So, you're never alone. You have people where you are, and the best thing, you have a God who has gone before you, who has struggled in this world, and who, for YOU, has overcome this world.

So girls, don't be jealous. Don't be jealous of the girl with the husband or boyfriend or great hair or new car. Don't be jealous of her clothes or her hair or her size 6 self. Be happy for her, and know, that she struggles too. Rejoice in the miraculous creation that you are. Celebrate that, and don't be jealous.

Don't ever be jealous.