I recently came across this funny story that a lady had written entitled, In My Next Life. 

“In this life I’m a woman. In my next life, I’d like to come back as a bear. When you’re a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months. I could deal with that. Before you hibernate, you’re supposed to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that, too. When you’re a girl bear, you birth your children (who are the size of walnuts) while you’re sleeping and wake to partially grown, cute cuddly cubs. I could definitely deal with that. If you’re a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too. I could deal with that. If you’re a bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling. He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat. Yup… gonna be a bear.”

The truth is, many people wish they were living a different life. Enamored with the pressures of the daily grind, people tend to see the greener grass on the other side of their own reality. Instead of making the most of what they have, they are always desirous for something else. They live in a state of discontent no matter how many blessings they have received. This type of living can get them so caught up in what they do not have that they fail to see what they do have. This warped perspective plagues most people. It can even affect those who have great intentions and a positive outlook. This is why Jesus also said:

Luke 12:34

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” 

What we focus on is where our heart will be. And when we are focused on what we do not have, our heart is in the wrong place—always chasing more. In order for our hearts to be free from the never-ending desire of covetousness, we have to put our treasures in heavenly things and not earthly things. This means our hearts need to move from what we get to what we can give.

The true measure of success is not in what we have gained, but it is in what we have given.