Soundly Defeating Envy

“A sound heart [is] the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.” (Pr 14:30 AV)

Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines envy as, “To feel uneasiness, mortification or discontent, at the sight of superior excellence, reputation or happiness enjoyed by another; to repine at another's prosperity; to fret or grieve one's self at the real or supposed superiority of another, and to hate him on that account.”  Envy is the resentment over what others have which is lacking in the life of the envious.  Envy does not stop at lust.  Envy goes further.  Envy becomes personal.  Envy strikes at the blessed because the envious deem it unfair, unjust, or simply bad luck that the blessed prosper.  Envy is also delusional.  All it can see is the surface.  It cannot see what is beneath it.  What seems like a blessing may not be as it seems.  Envy is also distorted.  It cannot see what one has.  Only what one does not have.  The cure is a soundness of heart.  The definition of ‘sound’ here means healthy.  A healthy heart is the joy of the flesh and not attaining what the envious desires.  The problem with envy is that it is never satisfied.  Even if it attains what another has, the eyes shift onto something else.  The cure for envy is faith and contentment.  Believing God has granted the best for the soul and being content regardless of what others have is the life of the flesh.

Have you ever seen two toddlers play with the same set of toys?  Eventually, one wants what the other has.  What is fascinating is when one rejects a toy because they are bored and then sees the other gleefully playing with it, he wants it back.  What he cannot see is the attitude toward the toy and not the toy itself.  He cannot see that his rival is content with it.  It wouldn’t matter what toy the second had.  He would be content with it.  This doesn’t compute with the envious toddler.  I was sitting with my grandchildren as they were playing with various sets of toys.  One set was a foodservice set.  It had many plastic, toy restaurant-themed objects.  The first child had moved on to something else.  After about fifteen minutes another child was using one of those foodservice toys completely differently.  The first child would have none of that.  It didn’t matter that she was done playing with it.  Rather, she was more concerned that her sibling found a unique way in which to apply that toy, and she was not happy.

Envy is not a comfortable state of mind.  Envy is not peaceful.  Envy will tear a soul to pieces.  It often ends in choices of self-destruction.  Envy strives to attain what it should not have.  It doesn’t matter if damage ensues along the way.  What the envious wants, it has to have.  An over-charged bank account.  Misplaced priorities resulting in a broken home.  A sour disposition in life that eats away at the soul.  They are all a result of unconfessed envy.  The saint needs to be on guard for this.  He or she needs to realize that God loves them and knows what is best for them.  It doesn’t matter what others have.  It doesn’t matter that we think we lack.  The truth is that we have exactly what God knows is best for us.  Nothing less.  Nothing more.  Believing and trusting are the answer.