Erase Envy, Embrace Life
One of the more difficult reactions which we’ll ever need to conquer, is our own envy as we “watch” life around us. We never see the full picture, but there are very few, if any, who are not victimized by our own envy. Those who have every-thing that they’d ever hoped or worked for are often envious of the carefree, peace of mind, privacy or solitude of others. Those with the bright lights of fame shining upon them often must wear disguises to experience any level of privacy and normalcy in their lives. We should allow the hitch-hiker to remind us that wanting a better car is silly. The double amputee or paraplegic should eliminate any envy of those with thinner legs or stronger arms. Have you spent any part of your life trying to reach a particular goal or milestone, only to wonder “what was I thinking” after you’d finally achieved it? Spending even one moment of ones life in a wishful state, returns nothing on our time investment. That’s like burying our hopes in our back yards and expecting they’ll be realized when we dig them up again. To be envious of something presumes that our own situation couldn’t be any worse and nothing could be further from the truth. Unless we are already in literal hell, things could be worse. Each time we think, “this is bad” or “it couldn’t get much worse”, life throws a faster curve ball at us. This continues for most of us until we begin to sit back and enjoyably count our blessings.
“A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.” (Proverbs 14:30 ESV). I used to drive by golf courses commuting to or from work, enviously wondering where people found that much free time and money? Later I learned to be thankful that I had a job to go to. I’ve always loved sports. As a kid, my community had two levels of baseball, the minors and the fully uniformed “Little League”. I envied the kids in uniform and was elevated to that “big” league midway through my initial season. That same year I was hit hard in the head (literally) three times; batting, catching and fielding. Then in high school, the varsity football team was my sole objective. After making it, on camera, I dropped a perfectly thrown pass in the end zone, on Thanksgiving Day! “What had I been thinking”? In humbling, aged retrospect, I’m now thankful that I had the abilities and circumstances to live out some of my childhood dreams. Better to learn later than never. Forget the envy and embrace what you have now!
JC Calkins with COMMON SENSE 4 UNCOMMON PEOPLE (share today)
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