I realized today that one mark of maturity in the life of faith is being able to celebrate when someone has received something that you don’t have and are waiting for. One example is a single person celebrating a happy couple holding hands. Or maybe it’s a couple with no children rejoicing with a couple who found out they are expecting.

This culture promotes competition and envy probably more than any other ever in history. At least it seems that way. Every single commercial and ad campaign seems to target buying a car or a shoe or a phone to impress your neighbors and friends. But to be genuinely content is to be decidedly counter-cultural in this day and age.

Being content also means you can authentically celebrate when someone gets a promotion and you’re still looking for a job. Or when someone has a spiritual breakthrough while you’re in a kind of dark night of the soul or a spiritually dry season.

As the old saying goes, the true mark of humility isn’t thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less. It’s realizing that God’s plans are far bigger than just you and understanding that it involves a community rather than a collection of isolated individuals.

The deal is that in God’s community when one succeeds, we all succeeds When one falls down, we all hurt. When one laughs or weeps, we laugh or weep with him or her. We’re all connected by being part of one body with Jesus as the head.

Let’s celebrate each other as if we’re celebrating our own victories because they really are. We’re still in this together.