“The Green-Eyed Monster: Understanding the Emotion of Envy”
“Coping with Envy and Overcoming its Negative Effects on Your Life”
A heart filled with envy’s not full it’s just empty, when we look for the things we could have there’s plenty.
From the things others own to the way that they look, our hearts get reeled in like fish on a hook.
It’s our envy that poisons and eats us inside, convincing us we’ll never be satisfied.
It promises joy from the things that we’re craving, but it’s far from freeing in fact it’s enslaving.
Yet we all fall foul of this fatal old feeling because the things we don’t have, look so appealing.
We look at our friends and we see their great lives, but ours look so dull that’s when envy arrives.
We scroll through the photos of those we admire, we see their like-count and we wish ours was higher.
We tweak our lifestyle to conform to the pressure, new phone or new shoes or the latest whatever.
We see people with things we could never afford, getting all the attention while we get ignored.
We see others find love with their boyfriends or girlfriends, but we’re left so lonely it feels like the world ends.
Because we’d give up loads just to feel that same way, to be seen, flaws, and all yet be loved anyway.
How can we ever compare and compete, against lives that are perfect, fulfilled, and complete?
We envy their comforts, possessions, and talents, and all of our confidence gets thrown off balance.
But one thing still gets me and drives me insane, we envy these people but they feel the same.
We think that the grass on the other side’s greener, but from where they are they aren’t satisfied either.
There’s a hole in our souls that we never can fill, an ache We can’t numb, for this pain, there’s no pill.
It’s something we bury and never discuss; this envy is something that haunts all of us.
It kills off our joy and gives birth to stress because we focus on all the things we don’t possess.
Thinking that means we’re weaker and means we’re worth less, and it hurts so much more than we’d ever confess.
So how do we fight it? What’s the solution? How do we handle our envy pollution?
In every event, the answer to envy is learning the secret of being content.
It’s not about getting and gaining more stuff; it’s seeing who we are and what we have as enough.
When we see and savor the gifts in our lives, we break down the envy that darkens our eyes.
But if you can’t see your life’s wonder and color, then try seeing your life through the eyes of another.
Envy can fade when you see what they do. I see kids who are brilliant, funny, and kind, with bold, loving hearts and intelligent minds.
I see beauty and talents week after week. What I see in you all is something unique, and yeah, I know some of you better than most, but greater than me. Here’s a far higher boast:
I read the one who created us say, “I am the potter, and you are my clay.”
God made us with care and he knows us best, and he’s where we find our true lasting rest.
Just like in verse 16 of Psalm 145, god opens his hand and your heart is satisfied.
So when I feel envy and wish I were different when happiness feels out of reach and so distant.
I have to remember to focus and see, the great things that Jesus has made me to be.
There are things you can do that maybe I can’t things that I am, that maybe you aren’t.
But learning contentment makes that okay because we’ve each been designed in our own special way.
Why focus on all of the things that you’re not, instead see the beauty and talents you’ve got.
If you waste your life wanting to be someone else, you’ll miss all the great gifts that you have yourself.
So do you feel envious of people around you? Look to God’s gifts in your life that surround you.
A heart filled with envy is not full; it’s just empty. A heart’s only full when we’re living contently.
