A Case of Jealousy

"Annie's house is huge! Did you see her bedroom?" Rayne asked her sister when they got home after visiting their new friend."What about her basement?" Lily said. "They had a huge TV with tons of movies and video games.""The yard was awesome too," Rayne said. "I'm so jealous of their pool.""I wish we had a house that cool," said Lily. "I wouldn't ever want to leave!"Rayne nodded and sighed as she looked around their small living room. Their TV wasn't even a quarter the size of the one in Annie's basement. "It's not fair."Lily made a face. "We don't even get our own bedrooms."Their mom came into the room and gave them a quizzical look. "You two don't look too happy. Didn't you have a good time at Annie's?""It was great." Rayne slouched on the couch.Lily sighed. "But now we're back to reality."Mom lifted a brow. "What does that mean?""Our house isn't as nice as Annie's. We don't have anything fun to do here," Lily said."Nothing," Rayne agreed.Mom shook her head. "This morning you two couldn't get enough of the tire swing in the backyard. You have plenty to do here. You just have a case of jealousy, which can be a real downer."Rayne straightened up on the couch. "The Bible tells us not to be jealous."Mom nodded. "It's often easy for us to think we'd be happier with what someone else has, when in reality, jealousy hurts our relationships and makes us forget how much we do have. The Bible warns us against jealousy because God knows the things we own will never satisfy us. There's only one way to have true joy and contentment. Do you know what it is?""Is it Jesus?" asked Lily."Yes!" said Mom. "When we look to Him for joy and satisfaction and are thankful for the things He's given us--even though they may be different from what someone else has--we can be content in any situation. The things we own are temporary, but the love, joy, and peace we have in Jesus last forever!" Rayne looked at her sister. "Come on," she said. "Let's go play in the backyard."Lily grinned. "Maybe Annie can come try out our tire swing!"- Bethany Acker