This is a photo of my neighbor’s rose bush. It’s always been beautiful, but this season has been it’s best season by far—so big, so many blooms. It was this rose bush that inspired me into photography. I snapped a photo one day of my favorite bloom, framed it and gave it to the lady whom it belongs to. I’ll never forget the joy it brought to her and the joy it brought to me as well. Soon after, I was inspired to get a rose bush of my very own. I’m still waiting for mine to have even half the blooms hers does!

Inspiration is one of God’s many gifts; it yields joy. It moves us to positive change. It has the potential to bring us out of a dark place. Inspiration is driven by hope, hope in the goodness life has to offer.

Very few instances in life have I felt more joy than when inspiration has struck me to my core. It’s this fruit of the spirit that leads me to believe inspiration is so often God speaking to us, a sort of connection we are able to experience with Him here on this earth.

Like all good things, however, inspiration has a dark side, a side that comes to fruition when this gift is hijacked by the enemy and perverted to fit his agenda. Jealousy is nothing but twisted inspiration, a misuse of this gift God has given us.

When we are jealous of someone, what we are really saying is we believe we are entitled to what they have, resenting that person for having that thing we want or God for giving it to them. It’s God’s intention that we would be inspired to action in our own lives without harboring resentment for someone else’s blessing.

I have my struggles, but thankfully jealousy has never been one of them. It’s not that there aren’t plenty of people who have things I want. Plenty of people who are prettier, better painters, better gardeners, better nurses, even better writers. But I see the absolute foolery and pointlessness of jealousy. We as children of God are all of equal value! Jesus died for each and every one of us, and God created each of us with intent and very specific purposes. Someone else’s success has never been and never will be a threat to me, my successes, my joy, and certainly not my position in God’s kingdom.

Jealousy is the enemy’s attempt to steal your joy and ruin God’s plans for your life. If he can make you feel threatened by someone else’s blessings, he can distract you from your own. The next time you find yourself comparing your life, your gifts, your blessings, or even your rosebush to someone else’s, remember that everything under the sun has a season, and we all have a unique role in God’s kingdom. Remember that you have the choice to be jealous or inspired to action. Remember that someone else’s joy doesn’t have to hinder you in finding your own. Lastly, remember your roses too will one day bloom.