Recently, I was unhappy. Every time I encountered this person, they seemed to be boasting about the events of their life. They always caught more or bigger fish. Their vacation this year was going to be better than mine. I could go on and on. They were enjoying the benefits of a richly blessed life.

I wrote down this question. How do I handle people who appear to be more richly blessed than I am?

Paul tells the Christians in the Church in Rome, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15 – NIV 2011)

My conviction is that it is easy to mourn with those who mourn. Seeing someone’s life fall apart, struggle through loss, or endure a difficult season pulls at the heartstrings. If someone else is crying, my empathy kicks in, and suddenly I am sad too.

When things go well for other people, often better than my life, rejoicing with them is hard. Usually, I feel angry that I wasn’t treated the same way. Is God even fair? This can lead to comparison, jealousy, resentment, and frustration.

One challenge in my life is to be genuinely happy for other people when their lives go better than expected. I need to see other people as companions and not competition. Finding joy in the success of others should be my default reaction, not anger.

Sometime soon, someone will tell you a story about a wonderful experience they recently had. At that moment, you and I both have a choice. Will I follow the way of Jesus and rejoice with them or not?