Envy & Ambition

Posted: April 15th, 2011   Category: Christianity, Common Sense

Will enough ever really be enough? For those with nothing very little seems like enough. For those with something, just a bit more should be enough. For those with much, there is never enough. Many of us will experience the first two of these examples and will still be better off than those in the final category. James 16:18 tells us “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every evil practice”. This world we live in is a garden for some and a jungle for others. I’ve lived in both of these worlds and my perspective would probably surprise you. In hindsight, I’ve concluded, that when I lived a life of affluence, there was no jungle on earth more threatening or merciless. Contrarily, the times when my personal resources were most challenged, that my life had the simplicity of a meadow of wildflowers. Beautiful, minimal responsibility yet magically adorned with the time to both see and appreciate every colorful petal and whiff of inherent, fragrant beauty. Ambition breeds envy, envy demands selfishness and selfishness corrupts common sense and decency. Envy is the ugly contagion which glorifies ambition, that highly sought after, richly rewarded, pill of unmatched bitterness. By the time we finally witness this, we are generally so far up the ladder of expectation that stepping off is no more appealing than falling off, yet one or the other is inevitable.

James 3 gives us the answer in verse 17, “but the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere”. Somehow we lose track of this simple wisdom in the race to accumulate earthly comforts. Even the promise of an eternal life, void of temptation, needs and wants, isn’t enough for many faithful Christians. Envy, in it’s simplest, most innocuous forms, is as viral and destructive as the blackest plague. Wisdom is our vaccine against this plague. The next time admiration brushes our psyche and the first blush of envy begins to push through our skin, we should think deeply of James’ message. Is this feeling the good fruit of joy for others or is it the weedy seed of envy planting it’s chronic roots in our delicate fields of character? The wisdom of heaven has been available to every person, in every modern language for generations. It’s a shame that more who believe themselves to be wise and discerning do not avail themselves of the bible’s timeless, priceless treasures and wisdom.

JC Calkins with COMMON SENSE 4 UNCOMMON PEOPLE (Please share you comments with us)

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