What goes on in your mind when the mean, green-envy monster attacks?
Are you instantly swept up in your emotions, riding high on a tide of despair and melancholy over your unsatisfactory situation? Do you pity yourself and the hand you’ve been dealt?
Do you find yourself vengeful and full of rage, passionately protesting the injustice of your circumstances to anybody who will listen? Or do you brood and shut down internally, convincing yourself that your efforts in life will never be fully appreciated or appropriately rewarded?
If I’m being honest, I’ve experienced every one of these responses to the envy monster. Jealousy is a terribly painful affliction. It brings out the worst in humanity and exposes how frail and fragile we are.
I’ve talked to many friends about envy and how it exhausts our ability to love the people around us. It’s much easier to covet than be thankful for what we have. Envy attacks feel like gratitude burnout. You can’t help but feel irritated and indignant as you watch someone enjoy successes they don’t seem to deserve. You know some of this person’s character or have witnessed their actions and find it infuriating that they are flourishing.
Resentment and selfishness are potent things, yet God always provides us with a way to escape the clutches of the envy monster if we are willing to let him work on us. He answered each cry of my jealous heart through the words of Psalm 37.
Do you struggle with anxiety and compare yourself to others?
“Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away” (Psalms 37:1-2).
Do you wrestle with frustration when someone enjoys easy success?
“Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil” (Psalms 37:8).
Do you find yourself coveting the life of another person?
“The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever. In times of disaster, they will not wither; in days of famine, they will enjoy plenty. But the wicked will perish: Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field, they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke” (Psalms 37:18-20).
Is it hard for you to be thankful for what you have?
“Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous” (Psalms 37: 16-17).
Do you feel discouraged when you see what others have accomplished?
“Hope in the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it. I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a luxuriant native tree, but he soon passed away and was no more, though I looked for him, he could not be found” (Psalms 37: 34-36).
It is challenging to be a Christian when envy stains our hearts green. It is okay to be bothered by injustice and unfair situations because it reminds us that we aren’t home yet. We live in a broken world that has yet to be redeemed. But while we wait, we must do our best to protect our battered hearts from the envy monster’s schemes.
Remember your answered prayers. Recognize the little blessings. Be aware of your shortcomings. Look for the Lord’s hand in the lives of others.
And above all, give thanks for being chosen as a child of the King.
