Whether you’re a Christian or not, envy is one of the top causes of bitterness and unhappiness. However, if you’re a Christian, you’re not supposed to let envy fester in your heart. Envy is a sin, and just like every other sin, it will have its consequences. Here are three easy steps to eliminate envy in your life.
Envy is counting your neighbor’s blessings instead of yours.
Edifying the saints
Many have defined envy, but the definition quoted above is my favorite. It explains what envy means and paints a picture of what it looks like in real life. Many people are angry at their neighbors because of their success. Some are unhappy because they keep comparing what they have to their neighbors. And the worse is others are ungrateful because instead of looking at what they have, they look at what their neighbors have.
Truly, envy is a dangerous sin. It will destroy you if you let it fester in your heart. It will spread throughout your life like cancer if you don’t eliminate envy.
A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.
Proverbs 14:30
Read the Scriptures to Eliminate Envy.
1Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
1 Peter 2:1-3
Envy is a sign of spiritual immaturity. Notice how children envy each other, whether on toys, food, or achievements. And even if they have the same toys, for example. They still find things to envy; they envy each other about the color, the brand, and many other childish things.
If you look at it from a spiritual perspective, Christians who are envious are the ones who are spiritually immature. They’re bitter at the success of others. They’re ungrateful for God’s blessings because they compare them with other believers. They would even destroy the reputation of other people to hinder their success.
Therefore, Peter teaches us to avoid envy by becoming mature Christians. And we will be able to achieve maturity through the Scriptures. As babies desire the nourishment of their mother’s milk, so should we desire the Scriptures for our spiritual maturity.
The Bible will keep you away from sin, or sin will keep you away from the Bible.
D.L. Moody
The best thing to do is always start your day with the Word of God. Read the Bible systematically; I’m sure the Holy Spirit will teach you the biblical principles you need. Also, if your heart is already filled with God’s Word, there would be no more room for envy.
Retain your Spirituality Eliminate Envy.
1And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 3For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1 Corinthians 3:1-3
Being envious is not only a sign of immaturity but also a sign of sensuality. A carnal Christian is a person led by the flesh. The flesh heavily influences this kind of Christian. This means this person is prone to sin because of carnality (Galatians 5:19-21.)
On the other hand, a spiritual Christian is led by the Holy Spirit. This person does not let the flesh take control of his decisions. Instead, he allows the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit to dictate his actions. As a result, envy does not fester in the heart of the spiritual Christian. But instead, the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23.)
We remember King Saul as a proud and envious person. However, he started as a great king. But because he disobeyed God’s command, the Spirit of the Lord departed from him (1 Samuel 16:14.) Then, his envy of David blinded him from his purpose as a king.
King Saul envied David even though they were fighting on the same side. He nearly killed his son Jonathan due to his envy of David. He could have teamed up with David, and together they could have accomplished more incredible things. But he couldn’t see those opportunities because he was blinded by envy.
It all started when the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. So don’t let your spirituality go down if you want to eliminate envy.
Reevaluate Your Satisfaction (contentment) to Eliminate Envy.
11Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
Philippians 4:11-12
If you want to eliminate envy, you need to learn to be content. Because if there’s one person who will not be envious of others, it’s a contented person. If you are content, you won’t compare your life to others. You will learn to appreciate what you have. And you’ll find happiness in the success of others.
By the way, contentment must be learned, just as the apostle Paul said. And you can learn this through the difficulties God allows in your life. The apostle Paul experienced both a life of abundance and scarcity. He realized that God is the reason for his abundance and his supplier in scarcity.
In other words, his contentment wasn’t based on material things. His contentment was based on God. That’s the number one reason you can’t learn contentment: you’re trying to find satisfaction in material things instead of God.
Envy will destroy you, your family, and even your church. So don’t let it fester in your heart. The longer it stays in your heart, the more it will cause damage. Get rid of envy by reading the scriptures, retaining your spirituality, and reevaluating your satisfaction.
God’s will is not for any of His children to live in envy. So let me encourage you to share these three principles on social media to help others eliminate envy. Let this post be a blessing to those struggling with this sin.
