Escaping Envy

Readings for today: Psalms 73-74, Romans 5

“Envy rots the bones.” Ever heard that phrase? It comes right out of Scripture. Proverbs 14:30 if you want to look it up. It’s a great image. For me, it brings to mind an old oak tree I once saw when we lived in Alabama. Huge. Majestic. Beautiful. Branches reaching to the sky. Sadly, it was rotten at the core so when a hurricane blew through, it fell over, leaving destruction in it’s wake. This is what envy does to us and I have to confess I too often fall into its trap. I envy those who have more success than I do. I envy those who have more of a platform than I do. I envy those who have more wealth than I do. And I especially envy the wicked who seem to get ahead. I don’t know why. I don’t understand. I cannot fathom why God allows them to prosper.

As I’ve grown spiritually, I’ve learned to deal with my envy. At first, I tried to ignore the thoughts when they came. Refuse to entertain them in my head. Resist the urge to give them a foothold in my heart. But I failed. The thoughts were too persistent. The attacks too relentless. Ultimately my self-discipline failed and they would find a way in. Then I sought to do battle with them. I memorized Scripture. I prayed every time the envious feelings would enter my heart. I tried to take authority over them and cast them out in the name of Jesus. But again I failed. The thoughts were too strong for me to resist. Finally, I stumbled upon the prescription offered by the Psalmist in our reading for today.

“But when I thought how to understand (my envy of the wicked), it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.” (Psalm‬ ‭73:16-28‬)

The root of envy is greed. Covetousness. My insatiable appetite for more. Why do I envy the wealthy? Because deep down, I want what they have. Why do I envy the successful? Because deep down, I believe I am better than them. Why do I envy the wicked who get ahead? Because deep down I believe I am more righteous and therefore deserve more of God’s material blessings. You see my problem? When I give envy a foothold, my soul becomes embittered. When my soul becomes embittered, I become brutish and ignorant and like a beast enslaved to my sinful instincts and desires. How do I dislodge envy from my soul? I look to Christ. I find my deepest satisfaction in Him alone. “Whom have I in heaven but you? There is nothing on earth I desire besides You. My flesh and heart may fail - and in fact often do! - but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” When I make Christ my supreme treasure, everything I might be tempted to envy in this world fades into the background. It loses its hold on my life. The temptation is robbed of its power.

All of us fall into the trap of envy. All of us tend to play the comparison game. We look at our neighbors and we envy what they have. We look at our boss and we envy their position. We look at those who are getting ahead and we envy their success. We look at other people at church who seem to have it altogether and we envy their lives. We look at social media and we envy the highlight reel our friends and family post. The only way to escape this trap is to look to Christ. To fix our eyes on Jesus. To find our only comfort, our only peace, our only hope in His life, death, and resurrection.

Readings for tomorrow: Psalms 75-76, Romans 6