{"id":6907,"date":"2025-12-07T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=6907"},"modified":"2025-08-16T19:44:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T00:44:02","slug":"envy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=6907","title":{"rendered":"Envy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Short and sweet thought for the week\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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Envy is an unhealthy desire to have something that belongs to someone else. We can envy another\u2019s possessions, qualities, status, accomplishments, success, blessings, or even their luck. More than that, we can resent them for having what we don\u2019t. Envy makes us miserable!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another biblical term for envy could be covetousness. It sounds a bit old-fashioned but it basically means we want what another has. From the beginning, God said this is not a good idea. In fact, God says we shouldn\u2019t covet anything that belongs to someone else (Exodus 20:17). That covers a lot of territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once envy takes root in a heart, it can lead to works of the flesh such as discord, selfishness, dissension, hatred, rage, and many other negative actions that God cautions us to guard against (Galatians 5:19-21). That\u2019s why we are not to have bitter-envy in our hearts (James 3:14). It\u2019s better to fill our hearts with love for love does not envy (1 Corinthians 13:4). If we truly love others, we will be happy for their good fortune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okay, you\u2019re saying! Envy is bad, but how do I conquer these dissatisfied longings? A couple of things come to mind\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, we should stop comparing ourselves with others. Do we not know that God loves us just as much as He loves others? His love for us is not manifest in physical possessions or attributes. When God lifts another up for some reason, it does not mean He is putting everyone else down. Appearances can be deceiving. We don\u2019t know what a person is going through. That\u2019s why we run our own race, the one God tailor-made just for us (Hebrews 12:1).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, we should learn to be truly content with our lives in Christ regardless of our circumstances. This is a lesson Paul learned through dire experiences (Philippians 4:10-12). He concluded that he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him (Philippians 4:13).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Envy will draw our focus from Christ to ourselves. If we have any hope of contentment, we must keep our eyes focused on Christ, not those around us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David tells us not to be envious and then gives some helpful tips on how to do that (Psalm 37:1). Trust God and do good (Psalm 37:2). Fill your mind with God\u2019s faithfulness (Psalm 37:2). Delight yourself in the Lord (Psalm 37:2). Commit your ways to God (Psalm 37:3). Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him (Psalm 37:7). Cease from anger and do not fret (Psalm 37:8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we concentrate on doing these things, we won\u2019t have time to be envious!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSet your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.\u201d ~Colossians 3:2<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Short and sweet thought for the week\u2026 Envy is an unhealthy desire to have something that belongs to someone else. We can envy another\u2019s possessions, qualities, status, accomplishments, success, blessings, or even their luck. More than that, we can resent … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6907"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6907"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6909,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6907\/revisions\/6909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}