Friday... It is just so easy at this time of the year.

Friday... It is just so easy at this time of the year. It really is.

We look around and see all that our neighbors are able to give to their kids or we look under the tree at the presents that have our name on them. It is so easy to compare and it is so easy to envy.

Proverbs 23:17a (NLT) says, "Don't envy..." But it is so easy to long for what others have or what they can do.

I look back on My Christmases and I see so many different things. When I was a child, I many times would just get one present. It was all that my parents could do. There was another time that there were two Christmas trees with presents under them for 11 of us. It took over 3 hours for us to open them all. It was unbelievable. But I don't remember one present that I got from that Christmas but I do remember the gifts that my parents gave out of sacrifice and love for me as a child.

Yes it is so easy to envy at this time of the year.

Now the verse goes on. It says in verses 17 & 18, "Don't envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord. You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed."

The Message says, "Don't for a minute envy careless rebels; soak yourself in the Fear-of-God - That's where your future lies. Then you won't be left with an armload of nothing."

Yes we can envy what others have and what others can do but we really don't know what they really have. They may not have the hope that you have in a relationship with God which carries over to the relationships that you have and into a hope that will not disappointed and you will not be left with an armload of nothing.

I love to give because I love the ones I am giving too and I love the One whose birthday we are celebrating. There is no envy there but love. And love is the greatest gift that you can give and that ever has been given. And that too can be easy at this time of the year.

2 John 1:7 (NLT) says, "Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ - the Son of the Father - will continue to be with us who live in truth and love." Yes, yes! #todaysbeinning

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Todays Beginning

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