DEATH BY ENVY

 

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Are you obsessed with another gal or guy - that they might have more than you; that their talents might be recognized more than yours are recognized?  Christianity constantly speaks of thinking of the other person more than yourself, but not in the manner Envy does.

 

 

Well now, we’ve spent enough time in this series defining and explaining envy…now let’s look at some ways to get rid of it.

 

 

Switch from envy to gratitude.

 

 

Don’t allow another person’s success to rob you of the pleasure your own achievement.  I remember in college we had one fellow on the track team who broke every record from the mile through the marathon.  I knew I could never beat him, but I could always beat my own best time, which I continued to do right up till I graduated.

 

 

That other person has more wealth?  Be grateful you are not living in poverty.

 

 

Andrew Carnegie was a multimillionaire in a day when it was equal to being a billionaire in our time.  And what did he say of his wealth that so many envied, “Millionaires who laugh are rare.  My experience is that wealth is apt to take the smiles away.”

 

 

Henry Ford, the automobile king, said, “I was happier when doing a mechanic’s job.”

 

 

John B. Rockefeller wrote, “I have made millions, but they have brought me no happiness. I would barter them all for the days I sat on an office stool in Cleveland and counted myself rich on three dollars a week.”  Broken in health, constantly afraid someone would steal from him he never went anywhere without an armed guard.

 

 

That other person sings with a better voice?   Be grateful you have any voice at all. 

 

 

The other person has twenty/twenty vision and even with your glasses you’d like to be able to see better.  Ever hear of a woman named Helen Keller?  Remember, she was mute and deaf and blind.

 

 

Learn and remember and repeat jokes about envy and jealousy.  They will let you laugh at yourself and who wants to be the object of self ridicule.  By way of example…there was the man who said his wife’s jealousy was getting ridiculous, “The other day she looked at my calendar and wanted to know who May was.”

 

 

Keep your mouth shut.  Don’t constantly be putting other people down as a way of lifting yourself up.  

 

 

Get to know better the person you are envious of.  As you do, try to appreciate and admire the trait or talent you have envied them for having.  Admiration is better than envy any day in the week.

 

 

And ask your self this question, “Why do I always have to be number 1 in everything?”  For yes, any time you are envious, it is because you feel you are in second place. 

 

 

Intellectually I’m sure you know you can’t be in first place in everything, so again…ask yourself, “Why do I always have to be number 1?”

 

 

Since this is an impossible yearning, instead pour your energies into loving God enough to be content.  Loving your fellowman enough so as not to envy.  This is a double dose of Christian sanity and well worth all your efforts to achieve.  

 

You know what envious people do on a regular basis?  They walk into a room and in a sense announce, “Ta da!  Here I am.”  And then …if those gathered do not kowtow and genuflect, they feel unappreciated and unloved, and they fuss and they fret and they frame their discontent and hang it on any nearby wall.

 

Exodus 20:17 – “You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.” 

 

Would you rid yourself of the curse of being envious?  Then pray not to be covetous.

 

Do you really want to rid yourself of envy?  Just remember, that person you envy, for whatever reason, also has wants and needs that are not getting fulfilled and never will be.  They may look like they are getting everything they want…but they aren’t.

 

Nobody does.

 

So they need your understanding and your love and perhaps also your help in some areas it not others.  What they certainly don’t need is your rancor.

 

There is an old Latin proverb, “He who covets is always poor.”  And so is the person who is always envious - the more they envy, the poorer they get…in mind, body and soul.

 

Would you rid yourself of Envy?  Then pray to be content with what you have and who you are.  Do this and you will be rich beyond your wildest dreams.

 

And meanwhile remember, Envy does not always announce its entrance but it will never leave without your consent.

 

Are you obsessed with another gal or guy - that they might have more than you; that their talents might be recognized more than yours are recognized?  Christianity constantly speaks of thinking of the other person more than yourself, but not in the manner Envy does.

 

 

Well now, we’ve spent enough time in this series defining and explaining envy…now let’s look at some ways to get rid of it.

 

 

Switch from envy to gratitude.

 

 

Don’t allow another person’s success to rob you of the pleasure your own achievement.  I remember in college we had one fellow on the track team who broke every record from the mile through the marathon.  I knew I could never beat him, but I could always beat my own best time, which I continued to do right up till I graduated.

 

 

That other person has more wealth?  Be grateful you are not living in poverty.

 

 

Andrew Carnegie was a multimillionaire in a day when it was equal to being a billionaire in our time.  And what did he say of his wealth that so many envied, “Millionaires who laugh are rare.  My experience is that wealth is apt to take the smiles away.”

 

 

Henry Ford, the automobile king, said, “I was happier when doing a mechanic’s job.”

 

 

John B. Rockefeller wrote, “I have made millions, but they have brought me no happiness. I would barter them all for the days I sat on an office stool in Cleveland and counted myself rich on three dollars a week.”  Broken in health, constantly afraid someone would steal from him he never went anywhere without an armed guard.

 

 

That other person sings with a better voice?   Be grateful you have any voice at all. 

 

 

The other person has twenty/twenty vision and even with your glasses you’d like to be able to see better.  Ever hear of a woman named Helen Keller?  Remember, she was mute and deaf and blind.

 

 

Learn and remember and repeat jokes about envy and jealousy.  They will let you laugh at yourself and who wants to be the object of self ridicule.  By way of example…there was the man who said his wife’s jealousy was getting ridiculous, “The other day she looked at my calendar and wanted to know who May was.”

 

 

Keep your mouth shut.  Don’t constantly be putting other people down as a way of lifting yourself up.  

 

 

Get to know better the person you are envious of.  As you do, try to appreciate and admire the trait or talent you have envied them for having.  Admiration is better than envy any day in the week.

 

 

And ask your self this question, “Why do I always have to be number 1 in everything?”  For yes, any time you are envious, it is because you feel you are in second place. 

 

 

Intellectually I’m sure you know you can’t be in first place in everything, so again…ask yourself, “Why do I always have to be number 1?”

 

 

Since this is an impossible yearning, instead pour your energies into loving God enough to be content.  Loving your fellowman enough so as not to envy.  This is a double dose of Christian sanity and well worth all your efforts to achieve.  

 

You know what envious people do on a regular basis?  They walk into a room and in a sense announce, “Ta da!  Here I am.”  And then …if those gathered do not kowtow and genuflect, they feel unappreciated and unloved, and they fuss and they fret and they frame their discontent and hang it on any nearby wall.

 

Exodus 20:17 – “You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.” 

 

Would you rid yourself of the curse of being envious?  Then pray not to be covetous.

 

Do you really want to rid yourself of envy?  Just remember, that person you envy, for whatever reason, also has wants and needs that are not getting fulfilled and never will be.  They may look like they are getting everything they want…but they aren’t.

 

Nobody does.

 

So they need your understanding and your love and perhaps also your help in some areas it not others.  What they certainly don’t need is your rancor.

 

There is an old Latin proverb, “He who covets is always poor.”  And so is the person who is always envious - the more they envy, the poorer they get…in mind, body and soul.

 

Would you rid yourself of Envy?  Then pray to be content with what you have and who you are.  Do this and you will be rich beyond your wildest dreams.

 

And meanwhile remember, Envy does not always announce its entrance but it will never leave without your consent.