Turf Management

 I'm pretty sure most of us have heard and most likely referenced the phrase, "The grass isn't always greener on the other side". When we start looking around at the way others are living and we begin comparing their lifestyles to our own, there exists the possibility to adopt the mindset that the lives our friends, neighbors, or that of the "rich & famous" are living are better than our own. Looking over the fence into our neighbors yard and using that as a "yard" stick (pun intended) to determine the quality of the life we are living is a not too good method for judging the quality of our lives on any level or metric. Instead, today I'm suggesting that if we will take care of the turf on our own side of the fence we won't need to be worrying about the grass on the other side of anybody's fence. 

Whether it is your relationships, your finances, your job, your physical stature, or the totality of your assets the bottom line is it is yours. Your marriage is not going to be better just by comparing it to the perceived visual of any other marriage. As a matter of fact, you won't see a true insider view into others relationships because that is their personal relationship and yours is going to be different from theirs regardless of how much you wish your marriage was like someone else's. You can sit and daydream all day long about the "What if's" of life, but just because you suddenly received the dream job you've been wishing for, or if you magically hit the winning numbers on the lottery, I am here to tell you your life is not going to change just due to circumstances. John D. Rockefeller, one of the world's wealthiest men in his time, was once asked how much was enough, to which Rockefeller replied, "Just a little bit more". Looking over into another's yard and wanting what they have is a recipe for a life of unfulfilled bitterness. Greed and a lack of contentment are not desirable in my estimation. Instead of looking for a "little bit more", wouldn't it make more sense to give a good accounting of what you do have and learn to be content in our own backyards? "Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else." Galatians 6:4

Tending the grass on your side of the fence takes focus, attention to details, and a commitment to what God has entrusted to you. In and of itself wanting a better life for yourself and your family is not the problem. The problem from which the mentality of the "grass isn't always greener" comes from is when our focus is not on improving ourselves for the sake of others, but instead to improve for the sake of making ourselves feel better about ourselves. In Psalm 37 David shares this encouraging message, "Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:1-4 To enjoy our own "green grass" we begin to trust in God's will not our own. Whatever circumstance we find ourselves in, we trust that God has a plan and it is our responsibility to trust and obey that God is in control and in so doing we tend the grass on our own side of life's fence. 

I believe when we focus on our own turf instead of worrying about everyone else's landscape, we then place our time, energy, and attention on making our own grass the greenest it can be. In the world of landscaping that best happens when we irrigate, fertilize, and constantly maintain the grass we have been given. When we can appreciate our own "grass" then we realize the gift that God has given us. We start to realize that what we have was uniquely entrusted to us to not only take care of, but to also improve and increase God's gift to us. Life moves from one where the quantitative total of "friends" or "likes" you have  on social media sites in comparison to that of a particular social media influencer doesn't matter any more because you are focused more on tending what God has entrusted to you already rather than what someone else has. Your life's situation is and should be completely designed for your benefit and through you the lives of others should be impacted by the life you are living. We were made unique and it is our God who gives us the responsibility to go out and make the rest of the world, including the greener grass on the other side of the fence better because of the life of service to others we are living. 

Do you want a better life or do you want "their" better life? You need to evaluate your focus and reevaluate where you tend to spend your time and attention. The grass on the other side of the fence isn't greener just because it is greener. Could it be that the grass on the other side, if it really is greener, is greener because of the time and attention that person has given to their own turf management? 

"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this." Psalm 37:5

Coach Carter

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