Proverbs 14:30. A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.
To envy someone is to want their life.
“I wish I could be like him.”
“Why doesn’t God give me what he gave them?”
“Their life is so much better than mine.”
“You don’t treat me the way you treat them.”
“I deserve that more than they do.”
Envy keeps you from being happy when someone else is rewarded, because you wish it had been you. Envy causes you to inwardly complain that you don’t have what others have. The person with envy is never content, never at peace, and never satisfied. This is why Solomon says that envy rots the bones. It eats you up inside.
In the Old Testament book of Esther, we have a classic tale of envy. The evil villain, Haman, is envious of Mordechai’s success and promotion. Haman wants what Mordechai received from the king. Haman’s envy grows so large that his plotting includes not only the death of Mordechai, but of all Jews in the Persian capital. In the end, ironically, Haman is killed on his own death device.
The opposite of envy is what we see in the first part of our proverb – a tranquil heart. Inner peace and contentment. The person in Christ can actually experience the tranquil heart. In Christ we don’t ever need to compare our lives to other’s. God has given us exactly the life he wants for us. Yesterday we talked about godliness, today we are talking about contentment, and Paul said this about both to Timothy:
1 Timothy 6:6. But godliness with contentment is great gain.
Do you want to experience spiritual gain? Who doesn’t? But to experience spiritual gain we must let go of our pursuit of earthly gain and the envy that it can so easily produce. Contentment is the acceptance of what we have in this life as enough. What God has given to me is enough for me, and way more than I deserve. God is using what he has given to me to transform me. And God is using what he has given to him/her to transform them.
My heavenly father knows best.
When you can add this contentment to the godliness of spiritual formation happening in you by the growing seed of Christ’s life in you, you will have great gain. Gain through loss? Likely. For that is the way of Christ. Gain through contentment? Always. For that is Christ in you.
With Jesus there is no need to every envy another person’s life, instead we can trust that God has given us exactly the life he wants for us.
You: Whose life do you tend to envy?
You in Christ: How does trusting our union with Christ allow us to defeat envy?
Christ in you: Where can you see Christ being formed in you? Are you content with your growth in Christ? Why or why not?
Pray: Father, I trust that you have given me exactly what I need, including everything in Christ. Teach me godliness with contentment today. Amen.
To Live is Christ 