Do I Want Your Blessings?

Do I Want Your Blessings?	Next Chapter: Do Not Be Afraid
For a while we had two large dogs living at our house—Clancy our aged Golden Retriever and Freeway our son’s Great Dane/Boxer mix. Because of Clancy's age, our Vet suggested we encourage Clancy to eat more by giving him canned dog food along with the dry food. Well that certainly worked great. He loved it. And so did Freeway who quickly gained 10 pounds. As a result, while I gave Clancy a half of a can of dog food, I started giving Freeway only one or two tablespoons, just enough so he wouldn’t be completely left out. Freeway quickly realized what was happening. From then on, as soon as I opened the can of dog food, Freeway was immediately at my elbow, quietly begging for a larger portion. But I never gave it to him. He didn’t need it and in the long run it would have been bad for him. Then I realized how often I am just like Freeway. I see the “apparently” larger and greater blessings given to other people and I immediately beg God to give me some too. I don’t stop to think that just maybe I don’t need the greater blessings, that such blessings might, in the long run, be bad for me and that I have other blessings that may be even better if I’d simply stop to appreciate them properly. The Tenth Commandment says, “You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Doesn’t that include my neighbor’s blessings also?
"Do not covet your neighbor's house. Do not covet your neighbor's wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else your neighbor owns." (Exodus 20:17 NLT)
Lord, please help me to be content with the blessings I have received. They are more than I can count or list. I thank you for them and I also give you thanks for my neighbor’s blessings. Lord help me to trust in your wisdom to decide which blessings each of us truly needs. Amen.
Questions for consideration... Have I ever desired a specific blessing only to later discover that I was better off without it? Have I ever wished I could have some of the blessings that someone else is receiving? Why? How did it make me feel? Who is the one making me feel that way? Myself? Has anyone ever expressed a desire to receive some of my blessings? How did that make me feel? How did I respond? Why do I think "Thou shall not covet" is one of the Ten Commandments? Isn’t it relatively harmless?