Love Celebrates God’s Goodness to Others

[Love Celebrates God’s Goodness to Others]( Current Teaching Series [The Life You Were Meant to Live]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [Love Celebrates God’s Goodness to Others]( By Rick Warren — 02/18/2023 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” Romans 12:15 (ESV) The Bible tells you to “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15 ESV). Have you noticed that the second part of that sentence is easy, but the first part can be really tough? When somebody’s having a hard time, it’s easy to be sympathetic. It’s easy to encourage people when they’re down. But what about when someone in your circle gets a promotion? That can be hard to handle! Rather than rejoicing in someone else’s success, you may resent it. You may even wish bad things would happen to people, because somehow you think that if you can blow out their candle, yours will shine brighter. But here’s the truth: There’s plenty of God’s grace to go around. Jesus once told the story of a landowner who hired workers at the beginning of the day to work in his vineyard. And the landowner continued to hire workers throughout the morning and afternoon, so that some of them only worked an hour or two. Yet, when it came time to pay the workers, the landowner paid everyone the exact same amount. The workers who were hired at the beginning of the day complained that this was unfair, but the landowner replied, “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what is mine? Are you jealous because I’m generous?” (Matthew 20:15 CSB). Sometimes you may feel the same way when God blesses someone else. You work hard and do all the things God asks you to do. But then you see him generously bless someone else. And perhaps you think that person doesn’t deserve to be blessed because they don’t appear to have worked as hard as you or to have served God as faithfully as you. The thing is, if God wants to bless others the same amount as you, does it really matter? You shouldn’t even worry about what he wants to give other people. You should only be concerned about what you’re doing with what you’ve been given. Let me explain something about envy to you. Envy happens close to you. It happens in your relationship with your peers. You don’t typically envy people who aren’t your peers. You might occasionally think of a favorite singer or actor and think, “I wish I were like that superstar.” But, it’s the people closest to you who tend to provoke the greatest envy. It’s hardest to see your family and friends experiencing success. Envy is insidious. It devalues others, it destroys relationships, and it makes you miserable. It’s hidden, but it’s destructive. And it causes you to miss out on so much joy. Perhaps you’ve wanted to be married, but you’re not married. Or you were married, and it fell apart. Now you dislike weddings. When you get a wedding invitation, you start resenting. You think that when someone else’s candle is shining, it will put yours out. You’re wrong.  You’ll enjoy life a whole lot more if you learn to be happy over the successes of other people. If you’re only happy when things go well for you, you’re going to be miserable most of your life. But if you learn to applaud other people’s successes and celebrations, you can be happy all the time. Envy is the most unloving thing you can do to somebody else. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:4, “Love does not envy” (ESV). Love is not envious. Instead, love celebrates God’s goodness to others. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - Who are the people you call when you want to celebrate something good in your life? Are you that kind of friend to other people? - How have you seen envy destroy a relationship? - In what ways does envy tend to creep into your heart? What can you do to keep it from getting a grip on your heart? The post [Love Celebrates God’s Goodness to Others]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= [Get the Re-Energize Your Life Bible Study when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( If you’re feeling fatigued, exhausted, or burned out, it might not be your body that needs attention—it may be your spirit. Because caring for your soul is as just important as caring for your body. That’s why Pastor Rick created the Re-Energize Your Life Bible study. This practical, hands-on guide shares proven strategies and biblical wisdom to help you beat burnout, leaving you feeling renewed, refreshed, and revitalized. 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[Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life]( is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded [The PEACE Plan]( to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. You can listen to Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope, his daily 25-minute audio teaching, and sign up for his free daily devotionals at [PastorRick.com](. © 2023 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. 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