Envy

Much of the unhappiness in the average church staff [and in average humans in general, myself included] that I see comes from envy. Within each of us is the desire for what someone else has – along with its partner lie: ”If I only had it, I’d be happy.”  The feeling that we actually DESERVE more – or wish others had LESS – is even worse…

I fail in this area often, but can at least be grateful that there have been many smarter than me who have recognized this dangerous and destructive sin:

“Envy is the art of counting the other fellow’s blessings instead of your own” – Harold Coffin

“When was the last time that you thanked God for what He did for someone else?” – Rick Warren

“As iron is eaten by rust, so are the envious consumed by envy.” – Antisthenes

“We must picture hell as a state where everyone is perpetually concerned about his own dignity and advancement, where everyone has a grievance, and where everyone lives with the deadly serious passions of envy, self-importance, and resentment.” – C.S Lewis