Not meant for permanent residence!
The bible talks about envy but goes in-depth about a man of God who suffered through his envy of fools(book III psalms 73-89). This man of God gives example after example of wicked people who prosper and have no worries. He speaks about the many trials he faces daily and admits all the short comings he feels compared to the ungodly. He is attending a pity party of 3(me, myself & I). But in his conclusion, similar to his beginning statement, he acknowledges the good in his life and that is the presence of God. Envy has been one of man’s greatest downfalls since Cain and Abel. Superiority always arouses envy and Cain was envious of Abel not because he was a fool but because he did something Cain didn’t. Through his faith and pure heart, Abel provided a more pleasing offering to God. It was envy that drove Cain to murder his brother and then hide from God afterwards. Because Cain allowed his envy to control his actions he faced the most severe consequences that is a life without the presence of God. He was marked for his transgression.
Moment of truth: There have been some moments of envy in my life for both the wicked fools and, as hard as it is to admit, my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. The bible says only a fool envies another fool. There is no reason to envy what others may have whether they be a fool or a brother. When envying a fool what are we envying? Their bank accounts, their careers, their status in this world or their perfect life that doesn’t actually exist? Everyone is fighting a battle you may know nothing about. Furthermore, when we have feelings of envy towards a fellow brother or sister as Cain did Abel we risk taking the path of destruction. God loves His children and as shown through this story of brothers and envy we see what horrible consequences can come from such feelings when we feed into them.
We see two very clear examples of how envy can gain a foothold on our lives and destroy us if we don’t keep our eyes on the love of God that is ours through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. When we compare the wicked’s prosperity with our suffering or even envy our fellow believer’s blessings we are not keeping the faith in the fact that God is good. No matter our circumstance, He is who HE is! If we allow envy to consume us there will be no more room for God. You can have everything you have ever wanted in this world but truly I tell you my friends that a life without God is not a life at all. Instead you have a span of mere coincidences and passing moments that will flee and never matter again. EVERYTHING with God matters. Personally I don’t want to live a life praying for better moments, better opportunities or even that God solve all my problems. I want to live a life thanking God for every second He has gifted me with, praying and lifting up others and just down right appreciating all the blessings I am sure I take for granted at least once a day.
Sincerely,
4rm Partygirl to Praying Woman
Genesis 4:1-25
Book III Psalm 73-89
womenaftergodsheart.wordpress.com 
I’ve had some feelings of envy in my life, not for want of material possessions other people have but for family situations, etc. I am now blessed with my own little family who I’m so thankful for.
That is so great Fiona! When we focus on our path and our blessings life is just that much more sweeter! ❤ Thanks for sharing. God bless!
Envy, and comparision I find is crucial not to get sucked into. It’ll put you into a downward spiral, and that’s not something so easy to get out of. I try my best not to compare myself to others, but it is human nature to.
You’re absolutely right, it will suck you in! That’s why I think it is important to recognize when feelings of envy or comparison rise up in us so that we can quickly combat it with truth. Truth that we are enough, that we’re exactly where we are meant to be in life and that contentment and gratitude for the blessings we DO have will go a lot farther in making us happy than comparison checks will. Thanks for sharing! God bless
Envy is the devil! It isn’t worth an ounce of our time. Great post!
Amen sister! You can say that again and the devil is a liar!! Thank you for sharing and God bless you.
I love this post! Envy and jealous is something we all face at one point in time but it’s best to remember that we are all different ❤
Yes, exactly Angelic! We are all wonderfully and uniquely made. We all have our own special gifts and blessings that were hand picked just for us. Another’s blessing does not detract from our own. Thanks for sharing, God bless!
Oh man. This is all so true. I, like many, have definitely struggled with envy throughout my life. When I’m able to overcome it, I’m always a MUCH happier person.
That’s great Brita, you’re an overcomer! God bless 🙂
Love this. I struggle with envy and jealousy on and off in life, and when I do I try to constantly remind myself to be grateful for everything I have.
Sometimes we have to sit there and remind ourselves. God bless. 🙂
Great post. I like to focus inward to see if I feel satisfaction, rather than look around to compare what I have (or don’t have) to others.
Thank you Lavende, that’s the exact thinking that will keep envy away from your doorstep. Thanks for sharing and God bless!
Currently I envy those that have it all together. This year has been the year of trials, and I’ve kind of barely been holding it together… but I realize we never know what’s really going on behind perfect seeming facades.
I know what it’s like to go months or even years feeling like your life will never come together as you see others living what seems to be their dream lives. One thing I have learned, especially through watching social media, is that everyone puts their best foot forward. No one likes to put all their problems for the world to see and would rather have everyone thinking they have it all together when the truth is NO ONE has it all together. Not a single soul on this planet has it all together because not a single soul is perfect. There’s only one who has walked this planet in perfection and that is Jesus Christ. If we compare ourselves to anyone it should be Him alone. Luckily we don’t have to be perfect to be saved by Him. I like you have felt these feelings throughout my struggles. I am a visual person so when I have these feelings of inadequacy I will go to my bible to remind myself of God’s promises to prosper me and never leave me, I’ll look through photo albums on my own fb and just scroll through all the memories I’ve made with loved ones and sometimes I even put on happy music to lift the spirits. KSBJ live streams contemporary Christian music which is always uplifting. These things may seem obvious or to others they may seem extreme but I believe just like certain circumstances can get us upset or feeling like we’re falling short then why can’t we create circumstances to get back to our place of happy? Hope this all helps! God bless you.
Thank you for such a heartfelt reply. That is very very good advice. I might just take you up on it and try the same thing.
I definitely struggle with envy at times. I think that the unfortunate thing with all of the social media and blogging craze right now is that it makes our lives seem “perfect” on the outside. Even though I am guilty of it as well, I look at other people’s online lives and think oh if ONLY my life were like that.
Yes, Exactly! If it wasn’t for networking and keeping in touch with the family I have all over the states then I would be saying bye bye to social media. Lol It’s as if it were invented to stir up all these envious feelings in everyone. I don’t ever want anyone to think I am perfect and have it all together which is why I try to post about things I know we all go through from time to time. Thank you for sharing and God bless!
Such a good read. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you Erica! ❤
With sisters, there’s always a bit of envy going around. Thanks for sharing!
I have two sisters. One is older and one is younger so I can relate to sibling rivalry a bit. I think when we get caught up in the accomplishments of others we sometimes tend to belittle our own. I’m just trying to run my race with horse blinders, being content with who and where I am, so that I can be happy for others when they win their race. 🙂 Hope this post helped. God bless!
I feel like this can especially be prevalent in the blogging world which is sad! Envy certainly is the green monster.
So true. The other day I was visiting a fellow blogger’s site and seen all of her features/promos. You could tell she had been blogging for a while and everything about her blog was lovely. I caught myself comparing my newborn blog to her firmly established blog and of course Miss Envy came trying to join the party. I had a choice to make and instead of judging her blog her even comparing her blog to mine, I took note. I congratulated her on such an awesome blog and in my head I took note of all the hard work and determination it must had took to get her there. So instead of my envy there was respect. She had my respect for what it took to get her there. Inspiration is a much better feeling than envy any day! 🙂 Thanks for sharing and God bless.
Envy and jealous are powerful, negative emotions. Thank you for reminding us that God wants the best for all of us.
You are absolutely welcome French Robin! God is good all the time. 🙂 God bless sister!
We’ve all had feelings of envy before. It is an ugly thing so through personal growth I’ve learned to not worry about what everyone else is doing of has. I focus on being in competition with my current self.
Yes! I am always striving to be a better me than I was yesterday! God bless and thank you for sharing.
Envy, competition and comparison are not only terrible for your soul, but they are terrible for relationships as well. I’m a part of a MOPS group and this is one of the things we talk about regularly. I will be sharing your post with my group! xoxo
They truly are. I am honored that God has helped me touch even just one soul, share away! God bless you sister!
I think it’s in our nature to be a bit envious. It’s definitely something I try not to feel often.
That is actually true. Sin is embedded in our flesh from the moment we are born and I truly believe battling these destructive feelings as they come are our ways of fighting a very real spiritual war. God bless.
I think it’s so important to stay away from envying others. And this goes along with comparing too. Something I’ve definitely learned about over the years and I think I’ve come a long way! (:
Progress is always great Alyssa! I feel the same. I am not where I used to be in regards to feeling this way. I believe continually growing and recognizing these destructive traits will help ensure that old ways don’t creep back. God bless and thanks for sharing. 🙂
I think so many of us struggle with envy from time to time… in the end I always face facts that it’s not good and I feel so much better when I overcome it. Great post.
Listing facts is another great way to overcome these feelings. Especially when we are emotional because we may not be seeing everything as it is but how we “feel” it is. Great share, God bless!
Envy is a waste of time.
Totally a waste! God bless 🙂
Sometimes it can be incredibly difficult to not envy others. But then, as you said, everyone has their invisible battles that they’re fighting. Nobody is perfect!
Katie ❤
It really can be difficult Katie and even more so when you’re facedown in the middle of your own storm. When these moments arise and even fact listing isn’t making things look brighter we can always look to God for our worth. When we are weak He is strongest and when we look in the mirror and see worthlessness He looks back at us and says we are HIS and God does not make worthless things. God bless Katie!
Great post – Envy and jealousy can be very consuming!
Yes they can. To see how these feelings can affect so many of us day in and day out is proof of that. So glad to have platforms and many more as this one so that people can see they are not the only ones who face challenges like this. Thank you for sharing Rebekah. God bless you!
Such a great post. Envy is so hard to stay away from… it’s definitely easy to go down that road, but it’s so important to just be thankful for your life and what you have.
Such an inspiring post! I feel like people who envy others need to reevaluate their situation and decide what they want out of life so they can go after it !