(This
is part of a 31 day writing challenge, to write on the same topic for everyday
in October, called Joy in the Journey. To read others in this series, click here. )
It is one thing to talk about Joy in
the Journey, but another thing to live it out. On Day 10 I talked about Tommy
Newberry’s book, the 4:8 Principle. He must have realized it is hard to live
out joy also, so he wrote a companion book a few years later called 40 Days to
a Joy-Filled Life. He takes the principles from the first book based on
Philippians 4:8
Whatever things are true, whatever things are
noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there
is anything praise-worthy, meditate on these things.
The second book is broken into 40
short, applicable sections. Each day he writes about a principle, then asks
some application questions and has the reader apply it to their lives. It is a
useful tool if you are struggling with finding joy.
On Day 29 called Way to Go! he writes about the joy of other people’s success. An
important part of having joy is being able to be happy for others. He says we
can have success without it interfering with other people’s goals or dreams and
others can succeed without it hindering us. In fact, hearing about other
people’s success can inspire us to go for our own goals. In this section he
says:
“If you’d be proud of
your son or daughter for accomplishing some feat, celebrate anyone else who
does something similar.”
“Work to become
genuinely happy for others when they succeed,
get promoted, or win the top
prize.”
“If you are secure in
God’s love, you know that he has a plan for you, and you are not threatened by
others’ talents or successes. Applaud what God is doing through others because
whatever he accomplished in their lives, he can accomplish in yours also.”
“When you see someone
get the promotion that you wanted, it can be a real bummer. Difficult as it is,
thank God for the other person’s success.”
“One of the best things
we can do to overcome envy or jealousy is to pray for others to be blessed in
the way we desire to be blessed. It’s the ultimate application of the Golden
Rule.”
Being genuinely happy for other people when they
succeed is a habit that might take practice. It starts with kids on any type of
team when the coaches make the kids shake hands with the other team and say the
obligatory “Good game.” Win or lose it is important to teach kids to be good
sports and be okay with not winning. Hopefully, this simple ritual transitions
to being happy for others as we become adults.
God loves all of us equally and there is plenty
of room at the table for everyone to step up and eat at the table of success.
We want to cheer on what God is doing in other people’s lives, because what He
accomplishes through them, He can accomplish through us.
A wonderful byproduct of being happy for others
is that it increases our joy as well.
“When others are happy,
be happy with them.
If they are sad, share their sorrow.”
Romans 12:15
Joyfully,
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