Envy

Envy is a poison of the heart, craving what others have (or what we think they have) and resenting them for having it. It comes from a carnal heart focused on its own advantage. It makes us miserable to see other people enjoy what we feel we’re missing out on, whether position, possessions, popularity, authority, or relationships.

Envy steals our joy by keeping us fixated on what we don’t have. It puts us at odds with the truth (James 3:13-18), ruins relationships, and corrodes us to the core (Prov. 14:30).

Jesus desires us to live lives of abundance (John 10:10), in which we live out love. The apostle Paul declared that “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil” (1 Cor. 13:4-5). Envy haunts the life without Christ, but God’s kindness saves us from that sour discontent and gives us a beautiful and rich inheritance (Titus 3:3-7).

If you find yourself looking covetously at someone who has what you desire, stop murmuring and start thanking God for all the good gifts He has given you. Let your heart be filled with the sweetness of gratitude instead of the bitterness of envy. God will be honored, and you will experience the joy and contentment only He can give.