The story goes that the devil was once crossing the Libyan desert when he came upon an area where some of his demons were tormenting a holy hermit.
The sainted man easily shook off their evil suggestions. The devil watched their failure, and then stepped forward to give them a lesson. What you do is too obvious, he said. Permit me for one moment. With that he whispered to the holy man, Your brother has just been made Bishop of Alexandria. A scowl of spiteful envy immediately clouded the serene face of the hermit. That, said the devil to his demons, is the sort of thing I recommend.
Envy. Augustine declared it to be the great enemy of inner peace. The poet Petrarch described it as that which tortures the soul. The apostle James wrote that where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice (James 3:16). And King Solomon? What did he have to say about the sinister forces of envy? Not too much at first glance. But when we dig deeper we discover that we cant fully understand Proverbs unless we consider envy because it is toxic to the lifestyle that Proverbs teaches. It infects friendships, families, churches, schools, the work place and ourselves. Envy is not the way of the wise person!
Envy is the internal pain or distress we feel when someone has what we want. Envy and jealousy are often used interchangeably because they are close in meaning. But there is a difference. A helpful way to remember the difference is that jealousy has full hands and never wants them empty and envy has empty hands and wants them full. Interestingly, both words emerge in Scripture from the same Hebrew term qua-nah, which means to be intensely red. It is descriptive of one whose face is flushed as a sudden surge of blood announces the rush of emotion1.
Destructive emotion
I am sure, like me, youve experienced a sudden surge of envy. A rival arrives on the scene and in my vulnerability and immaturity, I sense that I am no longer getting all the attention. I want the spotlight. I dont have what you have. I want to be noticed. I should be number one. And when Im not, there rises up inside of me this powerful, destructive passion.
An eagle was envious of another that could fly higher and faster than he could. One day the bird saw a hunter with a bow and arrow and said to him, I wish you would bring down that eagle up there. The man said he would if he had some feathers for his arrow. So the envious eagle pulled one out of his wing. The arrow was shot, but it didnt quite reach the rival bird because he was flying too high. The eagle pulled out another feather, then another–until he had lost so many that he himself couldnt fly. The hunter took advantage of the situation, turned around, and killed the helpless bird. When I am envious of others, the one I hurt the most is myself which echoes Solomons words in Proverbs 14:30: A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
Have you ever seen a wooden house that was condemned because it was infested with termites? The damage is often not visible and you and your family can happily live in your home without a care in the world – until your house collapses. Envy is like that. Most of the time it remains hidden in the crevices of our hearts and festers inside, robbing us of joy, inner peace and health. Everything may look fine on the surface but as we compare ourselves with others the destructive emotions of resentment and bitterness churn deep within. Then, without warning, envy surfaces in destructive outbursts of backbiting, criticism, belittling or bullying – even murder. The religious leaders of Jesus day were not seen as evil men or criminals. They were the pastors and Bible teachers of their day. They probably would have made good neighbours! But what caused them to have Jesus arrested and brutally murdered? Envy (Matthew 27:18).
What is the reason for envy?
We forget…
Or we dont know…
Or we dont believe…
who we really are.
Not only are you created in Gods image. Not only are you valuable and accepted and unconditionally loved by God. Not only have you received every spiritual blessing to live a godly life (2 Peter 1:3; Ephesians 1:3) – you are unique. There is no one else like you! You are like your fingerprints one of a kind. God knew what he was doing when he made you and has never had a person like you before and never will.
This truth should produce in us contentment and gratitude. Meditate on it. Grasp it. Believe it. Act on it. The truth will set you free! Free from your insecurities, doubts and the need for recognition. Free to be your wonderful unique self. Accept it and you will find rest. Rest in who God has made you. Rest in Jesus who is being his unique self through your unique self. Choosing to see yourself as you really are can powerfully affect your whole approach to life and how you see others. We all have varying degrees of talents and spiritual gifts and skills and experiences. We all have different roles to play in our journey through life. This means I can serve you with my differences and Im not threatened when you serve me. I dont have to worry that you have something I dont have. You have everything you need and so do I. You are an original why try to be a copy? So lets get on with it. Be who you are, thank God for who you are and praise him for what he has given you.
Open your hands. They are not empty.
1 Charles R. Swindoll, Living Beyond the Daily Grind.
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