A New Garden

Devotionals
December 29, 2021
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Proverbs 28: 19 “Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.”

Last night, my husband and I were doing a devotional. He was reading the Bible while I was listening and this scripture (out of a few) stood out to me:
Proverbs 28: 19 “Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.”. I think it stuck with me because it made me think – how many times are we jealous of other people who have something we want?

So you might be asking…”Okay, Afi…what does a garden have to do with jealousy?” And if you did ask, I’m so glad you did because I will explain how.

I’ve noticed some things about jealousy. First, there’s this feeling of shame that the person we’re jealous of has something we don’t and the fear that we will never have it. Second, there’s a feeling of resentment because “Why do they get that and I don’t. They’re no better/deserving/harder working that I am”. Third, there’s bitterness due to the constant comparison of what we don’t have in light of what someone else does have. There are basic emotions and then there are cocktail-super emotions. Jealousy is a cocktail-super emotion: a potent mix of dark emotions that will intoxicate you into believing false truths.

So…what does this have to do with a garden? Well, our lives are gardens, yes? And even if you aren’t an avid gardener, you’ve lived in or near neighborhoods with lawns. Some are better kept than others. Some are immaculate, while others make you want to tell the owner to burn everything down and start over. But whatever STATE or CONDITION the garden is in, it is DIRECT REFLECTION of what the GARDENER PUTS INTO IT. Now, are there other factors that affect this garden that are beyond the gardener’s control? Absolutely. But from my observation, none of those factors can totally overtake the outcome of a garden that is consistently nurtured and cared for by a diligent, capable and concerned gardener.

Now, let’s transfer that to our lives. “⁷Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”. (Galatians 6: 7-9) Our jealousy over what we perceive to be the superiority of another woman’s life often blinds us to the facts of the work she had to put in to gain that life. If we reap what we sow, then our lives are a reflection of what we put into it and what we allow to remain rooted (i.e., the weeds and bad seed we don’t pull up and uproot). Therefore, jealousy blinds us also to the fact that if we put in the work necessary to get the life we want, we greatly increase the chances of having that life. It keeps us “chasing the fantasies” that leave us with more of what we don’t want.

“These are all precepts and not absolutes” my husband told me when I engaged him on this scripture in Proverbs. “So just because we work the precepts and principles, it doesn’t guarantee we’ll experience the outcome”. And I agree. But if we don’t work the precepts and principles, we have a 100% chance of never receiving the outcome we desire. Then, enter in jealousy when we see someone with the life we want when we didn’t even put in the work!

I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’ve been on both sides of jealousy – the jealous one and the target of the jealous one. And I can tell you that on the side of being the jealous one, a small portion of it was based off things I couldn’t change. The majority of my jealousy, however, was based off my not being willing to or not knowing how to do the work to get what I wanted. As the target, it was 100% based off someone else not knowing my story and the work I put in to get where I was. While I am a compassionate person, I’m enjoying living in the garden I’ve finally learned how to water and keep and I cannot allow someone to poison that with the bitter seeds jealousy or resentment – especially when they don’t know my story! Instead I’ll pray that they learn to water their own garden or perhaps just start over and create a new one.