Summary: Why we should trust in God's purpose for us instead of moving around and expecting better things in life.

THE GRASS ISN’T GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE

By: C. Mason Davis

An old tired-looking dog wanders into a guy's yard. He examines the dog's collar and feels his well-fed belly and knows the dog has a home. The dog follows him into the house, goes down the hall, jumps on the couch, gets comfortable and falls asleep. The man thinks it's rather odd but lets him sleep. After about an hour the dog wakes up, walks to the door and the guy lets him out. The dog wags his tail and leaves. The next day the dog comes back and scratches at the door. The guy opens the door, the dog comes in, goes down the hall, jumps on the couch, gets comfortable and falls asleep again. The man lets him sleep. After about an hour the dog wakes up, walks to the door and the guy lets him out. The dog wags his tail and leaves. This goes on for days. The guy grows really curious, so he pins a note on the dog's collar: "Your dog has been taking a nap at my house every day." The next day the dog arrives with another note pinned to his collar: "He lives in a home with four young children – he must be trying to catch up on his sleep uninterrupted. Can I come with him tomorrow?''

Today’s Scripture

Proverbs 5:15-17 states, “Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers with thee.”

What that scripture telling us is: But it is still water. So, enjoy what you have. The grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. It is just grass.

Are things in your life not working for you exactly as you want or as you think things should be? Are you moving around a lot trying to find that direction and that place where things should be better as you’d hoped for? Is life making you dizzy because you have no direction? Do you feel so confused because you can’t tell what is up or down, left or right, right or wrong anymore? Do you suffer from the “Grass is greener on the other side of the fence” syndrome? This syndrome of “The grass is always greener on the other side” is a proverb about envy and perception. This phrase is used to describe people who are never content with what they have and constantly wonder if others have it better. We are so quick to see the negative in our own lot, so everything else looks better elsewhere. The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. Fences have nothing to do with it. The grass is greenest where it is watered. In Psalm 23, the reference to green pastures is a metaphor for God’s care for His people. It’s not a reference to go find greener pastures elsewhere, but that if you keep faith in Him, He will provide for you, so you don’t have to keep looking elsewhere for those greener pastures. Philippians 4:19 states, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

Some say grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. But most can say in response is, maybe so, but the grass isn’t the least bit green. And so, what should they do? Ignore the hills in the distance because the grass is always greener on the other side? So, over the next fence they go. But still the grass isn’t greener. Maybe this whole time they’ve been hopping fences but should have stayed put and nurtured the grass in their own field. If they had, maybe by now it would be green.

Some people say the point is to stop wanting the green. And maybe there’s something to that. Ecclesiastes 6:9 states, “Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.” But most move on, choosing a direction carefully this time. They set their sights on the greenest and decide to let nothing stand in their way, thinking this is the field. But alas, wrong again.

Israel was in the midst of a famine. It could mean a food shortage, and there would be no other place to gather food leading to starvation. It could be simply an off year for the harvest, or it could last seven years like in the story of Joseph. The rules in those days said that the Israelite people were not to intermingle with the Moabites, yet Elimelech did this anyway, moving his whole family to Moab where things seemed better instead of staying where he was and trusting God.

Likewise, in the story of the prodigal son, I imagine the young man was bored at home, wanted something new and exciting or was seeking a lot more pleasure out of life than working on his father’s farm. He thought life would be much more fun if he could just get away and move to a nice, exciting city. Sometimes, though we have to be prepared to deal with a little bit of mess in our own house. We often face two choices—stay or leave. It’s a recurrent choice in life. Now, suppose you come home, and you realize that your house is a complete disaster, a total mess. What do you do? The obvious answer is that you clean it. You can’t just close the door and walk away—you stay, and you put the house back in order. Elimilech and Naomi didn’t want to endure the struggle at home with their family and friends, staying and trusting God; they wanted to toddle off to something they thought was nicer and better. The prodigal son didn’t want to stay and make his father’s farm the best he could—he walked away from his home and family, thumbing his nose at them.

But walking away has consequences. For Elimelech it was death, and Naomi suffered the loss of practically her whole family. I can’t imagine the suffering and desolation she felt at having her husband die, then her two sons dying also. The prodigal son also had to pay the consequences. He squandered everything he had and was left broke, desolate, and hungry enough to eat the slop fed to pigs. And yet we read elsewhere that the disciples heard God’s call and left their homes, jobs, and everything to follow him. Abraham heard God call and left his home to travel to the promised land.

Unfortunately, in life, the grass is not always greener on the other side. But, “there’s a wideness in God’s mercy. There is grace for everyone, even the sinner. There is mercy with the Savior; there is healing in his blood.” Though the grass may not always be greener where you go with selfishness and disobedience, I can promise you something on the opposite side. The grass is always green, and the soil for God’s love and grace will always be fertile where God leads you. God doesn’t promise to remove the obstacles from your life, but He will make a way for you to get through them.

But what are some of the reasons as to why the grass just may be greener on the other side of the fence:

If the grass looks greener on the other side, it is probably astroturf.

If the grass across the fence is greener, it may be due to a septic tank issue.

Perhaps the grass is greener on the other side because the cows in that pasture fertilize the grass naturally. So be very careful where you land if you jump that fence.

If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, you can bet their water bill is much higher.

Even if the grass is greener on the other side, you’re going to have to mow that side too.

Whoever always looks for greener grass on the other side will never be able to appreciate the green grass that was under their feet the entire time.

The wisdom of these sayings is that we are wise not to focus on finding greener pastures somewhere else, but instead to nurture and grow the vitality of what we already have. Have you ever heard the expressions, “Quit spinning your wheels?” Those impatient for better things, for riches, or because they think life will be different elsewhere, have been told by elders who know, some from experience, that running away from your current situations won’t get better because you relocate. Most of those issues come along for the ride. So, quit chasing those shiny bobbles. There is no pot of gold at the end of rainbows. Relocating your life to a different location isn’t the answer to changing your life because you have to change yourself before your circumstances can change. A change of scenery isn’t a cure for life’s issues.

The opposite of the belief that "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" would be "Appreciate what you have." Believing that “The grass is always greener on the other side” could also be a cautionary tale, to cherish what you have and build off that. Doesn’t that make sense?

Clearly some people will do just about anything to get to what they think are greener pastures, but the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence. If we want to graze in greener pastures, then we have to follow our Good Shepherd. Jesus will lead us. But we have to follow him.

We are easily influenced. Maybe not all the time. We tend to think we make our way; we make our own decisions, no one could unduly influence us. But the Bible says we are like sheep, so easily influenced. Matthew 10:16 Jesus says, "Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." This means to be careful not to be taken advantage of, but also not to manipulate others. That's why we need a shepherd. We're sheep. We're vulnerable. We're easily influenced. But Jesus can meet the needs in our lives. Just how does the Good Shepherd do that? John 10:2-3 says: “But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” That's the way it is for you and me. There are a lot of voices in the world. But the voice of Jesus Christ is clear. It's distinct from any other voice. If we want greener pastures, then we have to listen to His voice.

Jesus leads us. Jesus gives clear direction for our lives. Have you noticed how tiring it is when you don't know where you're going next? Confusion is exhausting. That's why playing defense in football is so tiring. They don't know where the offense is going, so they have to work harder. But Jesus clears up the confusion with his direction. He says, "I lead my sheep." John 4:10 says, " And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice." How do you notice Jesus leads his sheep? He doesn't drive them. He doesn't walk beside them. Jesus leads out ahead of us. To lead the sheep, the shepherd has to go first. That's a good deal for the sheep. If there's danger out ahead of them, the shepherd will deal with it first. John 10:5 says, “A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” The sheep don't look and see a wolf in sheep's clothing and say, "You know, he went to all the trouble of dressing up in sheep's clothing, I think I'll listen to what he has to say." Sheep don't do that. If another comes in and tries to lead them astray, they run. That's a great lesson for us because there are false teachers who say real interesting things. False teaching is everywhere. Know your Savior and your Bible well enough to recognize false teaching. Sheep are smart enough to run away from false teachers. Even if it sounds interesting. Don't misunderstand. It's a good thing to expose myself to different ideas. It helps reinforce Biblical truth to hear different points of view as long as you are keeping your heart and mind on the truth of God’s Word.

John 10:9 says, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” Jesus is the door. Jesus saves. Jesus saves us from our sins. He saves us from our hurts. Jesus leads us to greener pastures in life even if we’re already standing on the grass that’s to become greener. It's such an incredibly simple offer and yet people miss it. Jesus is the way to salvation. It doesn't matter where you are physically, when you are in Christ, Jesus is with you, and by that simple truth, the grass is greenest. Because Jesus is the Good Shepherd, you will be spiritually, emotionally, and eternally in greener pastures. Wherever you are…whatever is happening in your life, when you are in Christ, that is going to be your greenest grass. In Christ, you are already there. The best way to believe is, “the grass is always greenest where Jesus is.” And it is to have faith in this that I pray for all of us. Amen!