Overcoming Envy - 3 Powerful Discoveries

I used to struggle terribly with envy. I lost friendships because of it, robbed myself of joy, and even spent nights plotting murder. That’s how bad it was. And the worst part is, that during all those episodes, I was a believer. Yup, you heard me correctly. I was a Bible-believing, professing, “sweet” Jesus-follower.

How can this be?

Oh sure. I can give you my sob story of how this sin first took hold of my life when I was a little girl. I could tell you that I went to the wealthiest school in our city, but came from the poorest family I knew. I could tell you that the very seed of envy grew from all the material lack that I saw in my own home, and the affluent expressions of money in the homes of my friends. I could excuse my sin blaming it on my father choosing his ‘favourite’ daughter for the day from among us three sisters, and in so doing established a greenhouse for envy to thrive in our hearts.

But guess what? None of these or other circumstances which so powerfully shaped my character are any excuse whatsoever for the sin of envy in which I indulged, until only a few short years ago.

It is to the glory of the Living God, the Most High King of all creation, and only by his grace and transforming power alone, that I have been able to overcome this deadly sin. I don’t deny that it sometimes still rears its ugly head, but for the most part, what the Lord revealed to me through His Word, has seeped into my conscience and transformed me in this area.

If He could loosen the strong chains of envy that bound me, He can do it in you, too! Following are the ways God has led me in overcoming envy – 3 powerful discoveries that I know can help you:

Discover the Truth of God’s Sovereignty

He is over all, in all, and through all. You have what he has provided – no more, no less. You married the man that He chose for you. You have the talents that He specifically chose to give you. All these have been sovereignly ordained, chosen, and predestined by God for your life. Once you begin to believe that God is over every detail of your life, why would you envy what others have and do?

Discover The Reality of Trial and Ease Waves

At one time or another in your life, you will go through hardship. It may be your time now to struggle, while someone else in your life may be going through a seemingly care-free bout. However, they will go through trials a year from now, when your life will seem fine and dandy and trouble-free.

You and I go through waves of trial and ease in our lives. God brings the trials to cause us to grow in character and learn to rely solely on Him. Graciously, He often wraps those times with pads of joyous and prosperous periods. You need not envy those going through the ‘good times’ while you go through your trials. We will all receive our turn to experience both.

You see, my sweet friend, God is more interested in your character than He is in showering you with goodies Tweet and therefore the things you lack and the difficulties you face are the very tools that God is using to sharpen and mold you into His image, which would not happen if you had nothing but a smooth hassle-free life.

Discover Love Believing The Best

Love believes all things, 1 Corinthians 13: tells us. You need to be a person who chooses to live by this truth. When people say things to you, believe the best about their motives. Believe that they are genuinely sharing some information about themselves or their lives with you, with no alterior motive in mind. Take their words at face value.

I learned this lesson when I wished a friend a ‘Happy Anniversary’ many years back when she had been married a couple of years. Her response was, “Thank you, I am happy!” Boy did this open up a can of worms in my heart :-(. In my sorry state, I was convinced that she had said those words to make me jealous of her, when in all truthfulness she was simply and gratefully saying that she is happy! This reaction to her response showed up my own heart issue of envy, rather than reflecting on her.

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I do think that the sin of envy affects some more than others, so if you are one who struggles in this area, I pray that you would heed these three effective truths that God has over many years taught me, and confessing your sin to your Father in Heaven, be content with who you are, where He has you in life, and be thankful for the umpteen blessings that He has granted you, rather than focus on those He has granted others.

Which of the above truths resonated with you, and how will you begin to change the sinful habit of envying others?