Light + Life Podcast

Episode 67: When Everyone’s Thriving (and You Feel Behind)


Listen Later

If your feed is all wins and you feel stuck in sweatpants, there’s a wiser way to live. Why does everyone else seem ahead while I’m stuck? Is God holding out on me? Today we name the ache of comparison and learn a Jesus-centered path from envy to contentment.

Host Liza sits down with Pastor Tim to talk candidly about the “everyone’s doing great—except me” mindset fueled by social media highlight reels, missed opportunities, and life-stage FOMO. They ground the conversation in Scripture (Psalm 16’s “lines in pleasant places,” and 1 Timothy’s “contentment is great gain”), and wrestle with ambition vs. contentment (Calvin’s “station” meets American hustle). Along the way, they offer practical gratitude rhythms, honest friendship, and the courage to celebrate others—especially when it stings.  

Key Takeaways

  • Comparison poisons joy. The endless feed breeds hustling for worth and victim thinking; naming it is step one.  
  • Biblical reframing helps. Psalm 16 and 1 Timothy 6 invite us to see God’s good boundaries and pursue contentment as “great riches.”  
  • Gratitude is a discipline, not a vibe. Build the muscle (à la “thousand gifts”) with small, daily reps.  
  • Ambition ≠ idolatry. Hold creative drive and contentment together with humility and discernment.  
  • Suffering needs presence, not platitudes. Sit near, listen long, and notice where God adds strength in the storm.  
  • Celebrate others on purpose. Choosing to rejoice with a peer is a character check that loosens envy’s grip.  

Action Steps / Practical Applications

10-Minute Gratitude Walk: Phone down; tell God three specific thanks from today.  

Social Feed Reset: Mute/unfollow one envy-triggering account; take a 24-hour scroll fast.  

Accountability Text: Tell a friend you’re practicing gratitude and check in after two days.  

Celebrate a Win: Congratulate a peer—no comparing, no caveats—pray blessing over their influence.  

Gratitude Reps Plan: List 5 thanks daily this week; next week aim for 10.  

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Light + Life PodcastBy First Presbyterian Church Colorado Springs

  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5

5

11 ratings


More shows like Light + Life Podcast

View all
The World and Everything In It by WORLD Radio

The World and Everything In It

7,103 Listeners

First Pres Colorado Springs Sermons by First Presbyterian Church Colorado Springs

First Pres Colorado Springs Sermons

20 Listeners

The Bible Recap by Tara-Leigh Cobble

The Bible Recap

35,747 Listeners