Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. (Nehemiah 4:1, ESV)
When you are doing something worthwhile, there will be people who do not like what you are doing. They will do all they can to discourage you. When Sanballat heard about the success of the people rebuilding the walls in Jerusalem, he began to jeer them.
Here is a sad fact. Most people do not want to see you succeed. In fact, they generally don’t like to see anyone succeed. They see the success of others as a threat to their own. Your rise in status makes them feel like it reduces their own. The success of others makes them uncomfortable.
The next time you are with a group of people listen to the conversation about someone who is famous or rich. There is not much positive that is often said about that person. There is more than enough criticism to go around about the person’s quality, character, or ethic. There are so many people who cheer for failure. Much of it rises out of jealousy.
It is part of scarcity thinking. We see success as something that is a limited. It is that my success means your failure or that your failure means my success. But it doesn’t need to be that way. We serve a God of abundance. And there is much grace to go around.
Maybe you find yourself jealous and critical of the success of others. You may not come out and say it, but deep down, secretly you hope they fail. Ask God for forgiveness and ask that he would help you to encourage and celebrate the success of others.
Reflection
- Do you cheer the success of others, or does it create jealousy inside you?
- How do you respond when people fail to encourage and celebrate your success?
Prayer
Lord, forgive my envy and covetousness of others success. Remove any scarcity thinking and move me to trust in your abundance. Fill me with your joy to encourage and to celebrate the accomplishments of others. Amen.
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