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envy

15 Mar How to overcome Envy

Posted at 09:03h in Christian Learning, Devotions by
“This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most”. Hebrews 4:15-16

 

1. Recognise you have it, this is the biggest hurdle as most people are unaware they have it.

2. Don’t act on it, but fight it by;

  • Thinking before you act: Know that if a person if has achieved something incredible it took a lot of hard work, sacrifice and overcoming many obstacles. If you envy them their reward, you are discrediting or minimizing their efforts.
  • Actively counter it by giving a genuine compliment or encouraging the person you envy. (watch what happens then :))

 

3. Stop comparing yourself to others. This is just a trap that won’t end well: If we see ourselves better than neighbour Joe, we fall into pride. If we see ourselves worse than neighbour Jack then we CAN succumb to depression. The only person it’s safe to measure against is Jesus in my humble opinion 🙂

4. Find out your gifts and work on what you are good at. Celebrate your small wins! Only you can be the best you!

5. Be grateful for what you do have. When we are thankful for our abilities/family/friends/material things, we ‘feed’ them and they start to ‘grow’. If we neglect these, they can shrivel and waste away.

6. If all this fails, I think about heaven and ask God to give me that reward I’m after. I remember one time visiting a friend who had a beautiful home! There was no way we could afford that, so I asked God to give me one like that in heaven. (actually any home on earth would probably be a shack in heaven) After I prayed this, I no longer felt envious and could enjoy my friends home and generosity.

Once we overcome envy it becomes a positive feedback loop.

Our friend has success –> so we celebrate with them–> they want to be with us–> we feel loved–> we give back to others–> people want to be with us> and it starts again.

Question: Have you ever thought about envy? Do you think you have at it at times?

Be blessed. Yvette Wynne

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