When Being Happy for Others is Hard
You probably know the feeling all too well. You just got the news from a friend, or you see it posted all over social media that someone has made an exciting announcement. But for some reason, instead of being excited and happy for them, you get this feeling of sadness in your gut.
My kids and I like to play board games. My daughter, Piper, who is six years old, doesn’t like to lose to anyone. If her little brother wins the game she immediately says the words, “That’s not fair!” and I find myself telling her to be excited for her brother and to be happy for him. (And then I can hear that still small voice asking me if I am doing the same? Yikes.) We can learn a lot from our children.
So why is it so hard being happy for others sometimes? The Bible tells us to “Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.” Way easier said than done. Sure, it’s easy to applaud those that are close to you and that you really love. But what about the person that has wronged you in some way, or the person that something exciting happens for but you secretly wish it had happened for you? Are you cheering them on?
I don’t know about you, but if something good happens for me, I want people to be excited for me! I don’t think football players would play the game as well without the help of their fans cheering them on to victory! Philippians 2:4-11 says “Let each of you not only look to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” It doesn’t say “Look only to your best friend’s interests,” but to others.
I believe it’s hard for us to be happy for certain people sometimes because there is selfishness lying at the root of our hearts. We can’t be happy for them if we are making everything about us and our wants and our needs.
The Lord doesn’t call us to do easy things, but hard things. Yes, hard things. It’s the hard things that make us solely depend upon the Lord. I could lay out different examples from His Word but right now the keyword is REJOICE. If you look that word up it will tell you that it means “To feel Great Joy.” Okay, it’s hard enough to just be happy, but God is calling us to go even further than that and show “Great Joy!”
I believe that you can be happy and rejoice with others when something wonderful happens, but I also believe that comes with truly spending time with the Lord and keeping your focus on Him and off of yourself. Psalm 16:8-9 says, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord, with Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body will also rest secure.”
I encourage you to rejoice for your sister in Christ when something exciting happens for her. Receiving encouragement feels great but giving it feels just as good, if not better. Even more so, I would encourage you to find that joy in truly spending time with the Lord each and everyday.