ME-ssentials – ENVIOUS – Day Twenty-Third
ESSENTIALS for Me NOT to Be: Envious
September 23rd, 2021
What’s your ESSENTIAL?
Essential: absolutely necessary; indispensable; the essence of a thing; inherent and intrinsic, vital
Just as there are so many ESSENTIALS for me to be, there are just as many ESSENTIALS for me NOT to be. Let’s explore those the other half of this month!
Galatians 5:19-21, ‘The behavior of the self-life is obvious: sexual immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography, chasing after things instead of God, manipulating others, hatred of those who get in your way, senseless arguments, resentment when others are favored, temper tantrums, angry quarrels, only thinking of yourself, being in love with your own opinions, being envious of the blessing of others, murder, uncontrolled addictions, wild parties, and all other similar behavior. Haven’t I already warned you that those who use their “freedom” for these things will not inherit the kingdom realm of God!’ (TPT)
It is intriguing to me that the characteristic of being envious is quantified alongside the self-life, and even more so, it is used in context of other characteristics that are rather demoralizing, as disastrous as murder and uncontrollable addictions. But it also makes me realize, envy is an addiction to many. Never feeling enough: good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, rich enough…always longing for what others have because they have enough when we feel we don’t. Envy also is, I surmise, a slow death, a murder of self of sorts. It is a demise as we chase after what someone else or others have obtained that we have not yet achieved and may feel we never will. I know of envy to kill relationships and destroy workplace environments and it truly makes someone miserable.
In fact, I had someone dear to me once upon an envy, who was never happy with herself and all God had given her and done for her, because it paled in comparison with what everyone else she knew had. I tried to give her all she felt she was missing; tried to make up for what she felt left out of, left behind from. I did her a huge disservice because I enabled the competition, I think now in hindsight. I fed her jealousy instead of helping her know how wonderful she was just the way God made her; she didn’t need to be someone else or have what they had…she needed to step into herself and accept. Ultimately, I think I lost our relationship because of it. Envy costs, and it is essential I don’t allow myself to go there in any manner again. We never know what someone might be going through, someone whom we envy, right? They might possess on the exterior what we think is important and necessary to have, but we truly have no idea perhaps how empty they might be in the other areas of their lives. Just because someone may have a big and beautiful home, the fanciest of cars and amazing wardrobes, doesn’t mean that person is happy. Maybe they live all alone because everyone left; perhaps there is a secret they hidden behind in their glass house. Maybe they live in fear or can’t afford the payments on all the exterior beauty they show the world to maintain a status quo but then find themselves empty and forlorn. The grass may be greener, but it also costs time and money to care for. We should step into our own backyards and host our own get-togethers and decide to be content right there. Contentment might just be the opposite of envy!
