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Showing posts with the label Envy

Hey, I want that, too!

Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. (Psalm 73:1-3)  I imagine we all have those moments when we see stuff happening around us in this world, then stop to ponder how has the world 'gone so wrong' in its actions and beliefs? We might not understand how the wicked prosper, the misguided rise to positions of power, or the righteous lose out on what appears to be so much. That doesn't mean we lose our faith in the one who holds all mankind in his hands and will eventually bring all to judgment - the good, the bad, and the worst. Moments of doubt and confusion come to all of us - we just have to press into our faith a bit harder, so those doubts aren't given any ground to fester. Emotions will surface that indicate we are struggling a bit with what we see, hear, or imagine, but those emotions ...

Life Hack #20 - Tether Carefully

Life Hack #20: Don’t envy bad people; don’t even want to be around them. All they think about is causing a disturbance; all they talk about is making trouble. (Proverbs 24:1-2) Bad people seem to be everywhere in this world. It seems like evil just runs rampant and we cannot seem to regain the ground we have lost. As we begin to ponder how easily things seem to be going for those bent on doing wrong, we almost wonder why things can't be that easy for us. It is amazing what we can get worked up over - stuff we probably don't want to be involved in anyway, but because we see some advantage to the other guy, we get ourselves all in a twitter about the issue. Evil people cannot help us stay on the right path - in fact, they might get us off it without even trying very hard - simply because our tendency is to follow what moves our feelings rather than what keeps our spirit on the up and up. To get caught up in the talk and the ruckus of their madness is to end up in a truly dan...

Life Lesson #15 - Hungry

Life Hack #15: Don’t for a minute envy careless rebels; soak yourself in the Fear-of-God—t hat’s where your future lies. Then you won’t be left with an armload of nothing. (Proverbs 23:17-18) That ugly, green-eyed monster often known as jealousy or better known as discontent can grab onto us so quickly. Discontent breeds all manner of other issues, so it is best nipped in the bud before it festers and multiplies! Envy enters in anytime we think someone else has any advantage we don't have in life. We might not know how frequently we actually evaluate ourselves in light of what we see another "have" - whether it is knowledge, privilege, or possession. When we sense this "discontent" with what the other person seems to have or get, it can lead to a lot of ugliness in our lives we really don't want to deal with later on! Discontent is really a sense of inequity. If you haven't already figured it out - all things are NOT equal in this life! We are all cr...

Take care of you

 Have you ever found yourself getting kind of critical about the way another lives, the choices they make, or how they do this or that? I catch myself doing that on occasion - focusing on something I can 'zero in on' about another - because it takes YOUR eyes off of ME, if even for that moment in time. There was a time when one 'church-goer' was observed being critical of how they 'did church' down the road from their church. As time went on, there was a whole lot of criticism generated about the 'way they worship'. Believe it or not, the whole thing boiled down to where they bought their groceries! This story comes right out of scripture, my friends! During the time the Apostle Paul was teaching and mentoring new believers in Christ, one group of believers were super-critical of another just because they bought their food items from 'pagan' storekeepers. Another term you may be familiar with in 'church circles' is 'buying meat that h...

Squirming a little?

As a wee kiddo, my brother enjoyed pestering me from time to time. Nothing pleased me more! I loved his teasing, endured his tickle-fests, and absolutely adored his willingness to take time for his little sis.  One of my fondest memories of Chris is his teasing - he liked to absolutely pester me in the most loving ways! Oh, don't get me wrong - even MY pestering him seemed to be enjoyed on his end! Most of the time, those 'pestering moments' would end in me being swept into the air, swung around, or pinned like a squished bug under the weight of his body while I had the giggles tickled right out of me. When I could barely catch my breath any longer, he'd set me down or let me loose. Some things in this lifetime "pester" us in a good way - others not so much! When I was beleaguered and bitter, totally consumed by envy, I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox in your very presence. I'm still in your presence, but you've taken my hand. You wisely and tend...

Find your delight

Find your delight in the Lord. Then he will give you everything your heart really wants.  (Psalm 37:4) Do you know how this psalm begins? David begins by telling us to stop being upset because of sinful people and to stop being jealous of all those around us who are doing wrong. Do you ever find yourself caught up in the moments of comparison where you actually begin to bemoan the fact the ones doing wrong around you seem to prosper and you are just struggling to make it through? I think this can be more commonplace than we might first believe. It is hard to see people behaving poorly and seeming to just slide on by without anyone calling them on their behavior. It is hard to observe injustices overlooked. The instruction is quite simple - stop dwelling on their 'good fortune' in the midst of some pretty poorly made choices on their part. Why? The answer is found in the next verse - "Like grass, they will soon dry up. Like green plants, they will soon die." Our respon...

Content with what I have right now

No matter how had we try to avoid it, we all have moments when we just "envy" the other guy a little bit, don't we? As hard as we try to resist the green-eyed beast we call "jealousy", it rears an ugly head and suddenly we are seeing things through eyes of envy and self-defeat - wanting more, believing we deserved better, or just plain thinking we didn't get whatever it was we should have received. It is an age-old problem, indeed. Did you ever stop to consider just how blessed you are, even if you don't possess all the luxuries the other guy seems to possess, didn't get that promotion as quickly as the other guy, or just don't seem to live as 'worry free' as he does? Blessing isn't just material - it can be emotional, spiritual, and even a sense of just 'being all right' in the midst of what some may think is a bad situation. When I was beleaguered and bitter, totally consumed by envy, I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox in ...

Getting beyond envy

We can miss what is right in front of our face - almost without even noticing. Why?  We have explored this very thought many times - it is because we see what we focus upon - a lack of focus on something makes it easy to miss the subtleties of it.  You have probably heard something like, "More is read than said", meaning more is observed in our non-verbal communication than with just our words.  When there is a disconnect between the two - such as saying one thing, but our actions showing another - we can be "read" by others as not really meaning what we say.  My pastor has a saying, "More is caught than taught", meaning almost the same thing - actions have a greater impact than our words.  When we get our eyes on the stuff which really doesn't matter, we have the capability of missing the stuff which really does. No doubt about it! God is good— good to good people, good to the good-hearted.   But I nearly missed it,   missed seeing his goodness. ...

Principle 14: Know Your Advantages

It is easy to get caught up in envy - that ugly, green-eyed monster often known as jealousy or better known as discontent.  Discontent breeds all manner of other issues, so it is best nipped in the bud than allowed to fester and multiply!  Really, in the simplest terms, envy enters in anytime we think someone else has any advantage we don't have in life.  Yep, ANY advantage! We often don't know how frequently we evaluate ourselves in the light of what we see another "have" - whether it is knowledge, privilege, or possession.  Some allow a little discontent to breed when they consider how easily someone can get into the scriptures, or launch in to a prayer for another in need.  Others allow it to fester when they see someone get cut slack where no slack would be rendered if it were them.  Regardless of how we sense this "discontent" with the what the other person seems to have or get, it can lead to a lot of ugliness in our lives we'd probably not like t...

You win the lottery?

If you have ever been to the store, picking up this and that, checking out at the register, and then bringing those bags into the house only to discover you really have forgotten just about everything you were supposed to remember to get while at the store, then you will associate with my next statement. Sometimes our lives get a little carried away by the stuff we see, hear, and smell!  Our senses and emotions direct our attention to things we don't need, or simply are not right for our lives at the moment, in order to entice us to actually pick them up, pay the price for them, and then make them a part of our lives.  Remember this - there is always a price to pay - it may not be a reasonable one, but when we are drawn in by what stimulates our senses or plays on our emotions, we run the risk of paying a price a little too steep for where we are in life at the moment. Don’t for a minute envy careless rebels;   soak yourself in the Fear-of- God — that’s where...

What if vs. what now

Marilyn Monroe once said it would be nice to enjoy success without so many people envying you because you do.  She may have been onto something there - for success to one may actually cause another to stumble.  The passage today comes from the psalms of Asaph - not likely one person in scripture, but a group of Temple singers.  They number 12 psalms included in the Book of Psalms.  One in particular caught my attention this morning as I considered the types of things which seem to "get hold" of us from time to time in life, causing us to lose focus, or drift a little off-course.  One of those things is envy - another word for this is jealousy.  As most of us understand, envy is really a feeling of discontent - discontent because another's advantages, success, or possessions get us feeling a little like we haven't "arrived" at the same place in life as they have.  The discontent can sometimes get us up and moving in the direction which will propel us fo...

Envy this!

I have caught a couple of shows recently where the point of the show is to showcase the tremendously awesome pools people build in their backyards or the tricked out recreational vehicles they take on their vacations.  The pools feature water slides, natural water features such as waterfalls, and even some "lazy rivers" for just drifting along on a raft or inner tube.  The RVs have granit counter tops, full-sized showers, and more flat screen TVs than you can shake a stick at!  These shows have appeal because of the "envy-factor" they create.  Isn't it part of human nature to hope to live the life everyone else looks at and says, "Wow!  I wish I lived like that?"  I have to admit, I am amazed at the neat things which are created - until I hear the price!  Some of these folks spend over a million dollars just for a backyard pool!  Now, don't get me wrong, but is this really something we want to be defined by? Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous...

A competition of sorts

I always chuckle and then feel a little sorry for someone who just gets so caught up in the "fray" of disturbing the peace of others.  Their entire life seems to gravitate around their ability to keep the pot stirred - and others get pulled into their "kettle" every time!  I chuckle because I find their rantings a little humorous at times.  They get worked up about the silliest things.  I begin to feel sorrow over the lack of peacefulness in their own hearts and their desire to see everyone else as miserable as they are themselves. Don't envy bad people; don't even want to be around them.   All they think about is causing a disturbance;  all they talk about is making trouble.  (Proverbs 24:1-2 The Message) Here's the thing - our scripture doesn't necessarily focus on their behavior as much as it does on ours!  In fact, the first instruction is about our attitude toward them!  Don't envy bad people - don't even want to be around them! ...

The Green-Eyed Monster

We all have moments when we just "envy" the other guy a little bit, don't we?  As hard as we try to resist the green-eyed beast we call "jealousy", it rears its ugly head and we are seeing things through eyes of envy and self-defeat.  It is an age-old problem, indeed.  Did you ever stop to consider just how blessed you are, even if you don't possess all the luxuries the other guy seems to possess? 21-24  When I was beleaguered and bitter,  totally consumed by envy,  I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox  in your very presence.   I'm still in your presence,  but you've taken my hand.  You wisely and tenderly lead me,  and then you bless me.    25-28  You're all I want in heaven!  You're all I want on earth!  When my skin sags and my bones get brittle,  God  is rock-firm and faithful.   Look!  Those who left you are falling apart!   Deserters, they'll never be heard from a...

Love from the center

9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. (Romans 12:9-10) It is so easy sometimes to just "fake it" when it comes to loving other people.  We make everything "look good" on the outside, but on the inside we are really just not all that into it!  Loving others is a LOT of work!  I don't think God challenges us to do anything more difficult than to love unconditionally, just as he loves us.  We almost always have "strings attached" when it comes to demonstrating our love to another human being. If you don't believe that, then let me ask you if you have ever felt a little bit slighted when a courtesy you have extended to another has been overlooked when you have needed that same courtesy extended in your life?  Maybe someone overlooked an important date in your life, or perhaps they did not pick up on a hin...