Love … is not jealous.
— 1 Corinthians 13:4C —
Aleksey P. | Russia
Envy is the experience of being annoyed by the realization that other people enjoy some kind of superiority or advantage that you don’t have. When we see someone is enjoying an advantage we do not possess and we are annoyed and bothered, this is a sign that we have succumbed to the sin of envy. Envy can show itself in several ways. There can be a desire to have what someone else possesses. Do you struggle with envy? Then reflect on what you deserve, ask God for help, and show love to those in your life. Or, we can desire to be in the place or position of another. Or, envy can surface in the desire to be better than someone else or that they would be worse off than us. What feeds envy? The underlying source of any form of envy is pride. The thought pattern operating in the heart of an envious person is often: “I deserve to have what the other person has more than he; or, at minimum, I am no less deserving.” How do we respond when we sense we are envious? We must deal with the problem of pride. If we genuinely realize that we deserve nothing more than hell, then we will thankfully accept any manifestation (even the smallest) of grace in our life and then avoid the weariness of desiring to receive something better. A humble heart is not envious. We then must give and show love. Love is the opposite of envy—where there is love, there is no room for envy. Indeed, love delivers us from envy. Do you struggle with envy? Then reflect on what you deserve, ask God for help, and show love to those in your life. Leave no room for envy.
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