I remember this old children's tale about an eagle that grew up in captivity and raised alongside chickens. All his life, that eagle wanted to be a chicken—to walk like one, sound like one and eat like one. But he could never be like a chicken, so the eagle lived in envy all his life of all the chickens around him, not realising that in him was the potential to be so much more than a chicken.
That's what envy does to us. Envy and jealousy may appear to be harmless and insignificant, but at it's core is a dangerous attitude that will cause us to miss out on God's best. When we live a life ruled by the possessions, gifts and relationships that other people have that we wish we had, we forget the tailor-made God-given purpose set for us.
Ecclesiastes 4:4 says, "Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind."
Envy and jealousy might help us get the things we want, but we will only end up doing things that do not fulfil God's purposes for us.
Envy, at the very root, is a heart issue that makes us think that we know better than God and should decide what we are to have. In its original substance, envy is unbelief in God and His ability to provide us with exactly what we need.
For those who have lived a life ruled by jealousy of the possessions and gifts of others, there is good news. Jesus Christ has died once and for all for all mankind to remind you that you are just as blessed as the person next to you. We are all equal recipients of the love and grace of God and everything else that comes as a result of it—material possessions, skills, vacations, gadgets, and everything else—comes only as an added bonus.
Envy makes us neglect the blessing that is already readily available to us in Christ, and when we choose to focus on who God is in our lives and what He has done for us already, we will act in contentment not in jealousy.
Hebrews 13:5 tells us: "Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'"
The love of God displayed through Christ is more than enough to set us for life in contentment and then watch God add everything else only to supplement His already sufficient grace. Just as 1 Corinthians 13:4a tells us, "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast," we will live in contentment and not jealousy when we experience the love of Jesus.
