Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. (James 3:13-16 NIV)
Envy is corrosive to our spiritual health. Envy is discontented and resentful longing for someone else's possessions, qualities or good fortune. It is more than a simple longing to have what you have. It's more "I wish I had what you have, and I resent you for having it."
Envy often originates in the corrosive acid of comparison. When we compare our looks or talents or bank account or possessions to someone else's we can breed the discontent and resentment of envy - especially when we compare ourselves to Elon Musk or Angelina Jolie or Patrick Mahommes. Truth is, somewhere in the world, a truly poor person considers me their Elon Musk!
Envy is misplaced trust. We trust in success and wealth and beauty and fame to make our hearts happy, and always longing for more of it, especially in comparison to those who seem to have more than we do, can fester in our heart and lead to all sorts of unkindness and selfish ambition in our lives and in our relationships.
Envy might seem a bit benign to have been listed historically as one of the seven deadly sins. Is it really that big of a deal? Even as I ask that question I need to be aware of the dynamic that our sin nature tends to minimize sin - at least in myself. God knows the truth about our human hearts, and what He says about envy in Scripture makes it a bigger deal than we tend to think. Listen to what James says about envy:
But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. (James 3:14-15 NIV)
Envy is earthly, that is worldly and focused on the here-and-now rather than eternal things. Envy is unspiritual and takes my heart further from God rather than nearer to Him. Envy is demonic and reflects the very heart of Lucifer who envied God's position as King of kings and Lord of lords and sought to take it for himself.
A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. (Proverbs 14:30 NIV)
Envy is the opposite of peace and rots the bones. When I trust God's goodness and provision in my life I have peace. When I focus on the blessings God has already given I am content. When I envy, it rots away at my peace and destroys contentment.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
(1 Corinthians 13:4 NIV)
Envy is the opposite of love. Love rejoices when you are blessed, it does not envy your blessing. Envy is like one of the red lights that comes on the dashboard of my car and indicates something is wrong. Envy in my heart shows me I need some soul work to be all God wants me to be.
The place where I find envy losing its grip in my heart is gratitude. Gratitude shifts the orientation of my soul.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV)
Envy says, "I wish I had your life." Gratitude says, "I'm grateful for the life God has given me." Most of all, gratitude gives thanks to God for the redemption and new life God has given me through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. God longs for us to seek His face, not just His hand and the blessings He gives. The deepest blessing is not having the face of a model, the bank account of a CEO or the talent of an NBA star. The deepest blessing is knowing the Living God personally and intimately and finding new life in Him that will extend into eternity. If He never gives me another blessing or answers another prayer, I will praise Him all my life.
The Holy Spirit seeks transformation for our lives to make us more like Jesus. He seeks to root out envy and replace it with gratitude in our hearts, because gratitude is a much healthier place to live. I do not have to envy the wealth of someone like Jeff Bezos - I can celebrate that he uses his wealth to create jobs and employ thousands and thousands of people, enriching their lives. And I can trust that if they are greedy and heartless like Scrooge, God can change them or will call them to account. That's above my pay grade.
The thing I want to have ringing in my heart today is this:
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15 NIV)
Holy Spirit, work in us to root out envy and replace it with gratitude, and we will have peace.