"Envy"

I read a statement the other day that said, “Envy never enriched anyone.”

Envy - a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another’s advantages, success, possessions, etc.

Personally, I think envy and jealousy go hand and hand together.

Jealousy - feeling resentment against someone because of that person’s rivalry, success, or advantages.

Envy takes root when we begin to look at the lives of others and get caught up in the dangerous act of comparison. We see those who seem to have more, know more, or succeed more, and we are overcome with a desire to have what they have.

Instead of being able to celebrate the successes of others with them, our envy breeds discontentment, covetousness, and resentment. Instead of being able to celebrate and thank God for the blessings in our own lives, we spend our time yearning for the blessings that belong to someone else. Jealousy, when it begins to take root in our hearts, will lead us to even pridefully believe we deserve more than we’ve been given.

The thing is, there will always be someone who seems to have more. But there will also always be someone praying for the very things you already have. And the fact is, we don’t deserve anything. 

Our contentment, our ability to be satisfied and joyful over God’s blessings in our lives and the lives of others, will only remain strong if we choose to focus on the goodness of God. When we recognize that there is nothing good in us, and that we’ve done nothing to deserve anything we’ve ever received from Him, we realize just how good He has been to us. And when we choose to focus on this simple truth, we understand that the blessings we currently have are more than enough.

We can rest assured that our all-knowing God knows just what we need, and He knows exactly when we need it.

Don’t allow envy and jealousy to rob you of your joy and gratefulness. 

A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones. -Proverbs 14:30