How many of you remember the song “The Boy is Mine” by Brandi and Monica? I swear the 90’s were the best! It was exciting to watch two of my favorite singers go head to head about who was going to get this man. Truth be told, I was secretly rooting for both of them to win. It’s not that I wanted them to share a boyfriend, but I didn’t want either of them to get hurt, and ultimately lose either. They ended up teaming up together, and they both won the battle against the trifling boyfriend. 🙂 Now, what if it had ended differently? What if one of the ladies got rewarded by keeping the cheating man, and the other just got dumped?  Sounds like a lose-lose situation to me, and that’s exactly the situation some of us are putting ourselves and others in.

When God blesses us with a vision or a plan, we become protective over it. Sometimes, we get so territorial over our assignments from him that we get upset whenever we see someone else following the same path. Here’s an example. When I first started blogging I was so excited to do something with my gift of writing. I spent 4 long years in college earning an English degree to perfect my craft. Now, through my blog, everyone get’s to see my hard work first hand. Shortly after that, I noticed so many other people creating blogs, and I started to get upset about it. I thought to myself, “This is my vision! They don’t even have an English degree! Are they copying me? God, I thought this was my purpose, my blessing!”

How selfish was I? It didn’t take long for me to realize that what God has for me is special, but that doesn’t mean other people can’t be blessed with a similar vision. My wanting to be the only successful blogger in my circle was so selfish! My heart was so messed up because I was clearly only in it for me. Had I kept God in mind, and remembered the ultimate goal for all of us is to share his love, I wouldn’t have had those self-centered thoughts.

Just like your gift will make room for you, God will make plenty of room for all of our gifts. You should never feel threatened or jealous if someone is doing something similar to what you’re doing (James 3:14-15). Instead, you should rejoice when you see someone else working to advance the kingdom of God. You may share the same calling, and if not, their bad intentions will be known to God and they will not prosper. Trust HIM! There’s no need to go back and forth and declare “The blessing is mine! No, it’s mine!” Just keep your eyes and your heart ♥ on God, and he will get the glory.