Living beyond envy – from envy to inspiration
But each one must carefully scrutinize his own work [examining his actions, attitudes, and behaviour], and then he can have the personal satisfaction and inner joy of doing
something commendable without comparing himself to another.
Galatians 6:4 AMPRecently, I read a post from a beloved gospel artiste who spoke about struggling with envy at the accomplishments of other gospel artistes whose songs became a worldwide hit and he wished he sang those. It made me reflect on the subject of envy which is sometimes like the “elephant in the room” that no one wants to talk about.
Have you ever felt like you have laboured more than some people yet they get better results or recognitions than you? Have you found yourself struggling with envy or felt low that others seem to be succeeding more than you? Some years ago I took time to deal with this from my heart.Envy refers to a feeling of discontent or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s advantages, success, possessions etc. It could find expression in many ways but usually not yielding pleasant results. As such we need to deal with these thoughts promptly, as believers.
First it’s important not to feel guilty if you get such thoughts. We all do feel the same but when we have the right knowledge then we learn to control such thoughts and turn them into fruitful motivation which then inspire us instead of brooding bitterness. There are so many instances of envy causing trouble in the bible – from Cain & Abel, Joseph & his brothers, even the parable of the labourers, and reading 2 Corinthians chapters 10, 11&12, Apostle Paul dealt a lot on this subject in the early church. The bible further warned the believers to be careful that no root of bitterness rises up among them to cause trouble (Hebrews 12:15).Even in churches, families, friendship etc., we can give instances of envy leading to ugly incidences. I particularly love the scripture in 2 Corinthians 10:12 which states that comparing ourselves to one another is not wise.
These are some steps we could take to stay above envy:
1. Recognise the envious thought and make a decision not to give it room to rest in your heart.
2. Remind yourself of God’s purpose for your life and be contented. Recognise that no man has anything except God allows. So appreciate your seemingly little winnings and be grateful for God’s blessings. Some people dream to be where you are now.
3. Resist the urge to speak negative things about the other person’s success. Instead reach out to them if you have the opportunity and congratulate them sincerely.
4. Appreciate them and look out for lessons you can actually learn from their success and apply them to your life.
5. If you have the opportunity, collaborate with the person out of humility, not to prove that you can do it also or even better.
6. Stay on your lane, the sky is big enough for every bird to fly. Do not try to be someone else. You can only be the best of you, not a good copy of another person.
7. Finally, if finding it difficult to go through, please talk to God in prayer, talk to another believer or your pastor. Seek help before it breeds.
Remember that what is highly esteemed among men can easily be an abomination before God but blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
Kindly share your experience or other ways believers can stay above envy.With love from me to you?
- 3 Replies
Well written introduction to this week’s discussion @Michael , it’s obvious that God is teaching us how to be content with who He has made us and what He has allocated to us. It resonated well with last week’s discussion.
One way that I have learnt to deal with the danger or possibility of envy is to focus on Christ and His word daily. Jesus said in John 5:19 that His purpose and vision are defined by what God is showing Him. So as we fellowship with God daily and fix our gaze on Him, He shows us beautiful things that drive our passion towards our own accomplishments. When we focus on Jesus, there won’t be room to notice what others are doing and even when we do, we will be encouraged that the God who helped them is also helping us.
Recently, I was reminded of Paul’s torn in the flesh that won’t go away and he had to learn to trust and lean on Christ daily. The temptation to envy will not disappear but you can learn to rise above the base passions of the flesh through daily dose of the word and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
When I feel like I am noticing what others are doing I know that I am loosing sight of Jesus either by failure to mediate on His word and think of the things that He is showing me. Paul told Timothy to think on these things.
I look forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts on this.
Great post, @Michael !
Typically if I feel envious of someone else, it’s a sign that I’m either unsure about what God has for me to do, or I’m just displeased about what I already know is mine to do. So I really appreciate the Amplified version of the scripture you shared that encourages us to scrutinize our actions, attitudes and behaviors – basically to examine our heart, examine our words and the work of our hands – because honest self-examination will help us see what’s off track.
Is the problem that we don’t have any God-given vision or focus so we are careless with our time? Is it that we have a bad attitude about the responsibilities we have because it just feels too stressful? Self-examination when we are struggling with envy can help to pinpoint the issue, and once we acknowledge our sin and express our desire to change, God is faithful to forgive us and help us get back on track.
Beautifully written… this just reminds me of the principle of “contentment”.
Envy is the works of the flesh, and God has destined everyone’s future, once we believe that we would not want another’s portion.
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