Evils of Envy

Envy slithers around like a serpent, searching for a prey. It is so insidious as it creeps up on your soul that if unguarded by truth and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, it can utterly destroy.

I've been at both spectrums of it. The envious and the envied.

As the envious, I have found myself covetous and indulging in self-pity. The envy blinds me to all that I have been so thoroughly blessed with while coveting that of others. I fail to see the slippery end that awaits and the wisdom of the old adage 'with great power comes great responsibility'. I was so caught up being self-centred and my apparent poverty. I was driven by an overwhelming desire for what I did not have and that is one of the enemie's greatest tool is driving a wedge between me and God. In essence, I was saying, '' I deserve this and you are not a good God by denying me this.''


As the envied, I've had trouble too. Friendships are strained as one constantly tries to prove his/her worth or outdo. I generally shy away from envy-prone personalities. Learnt to better identify them over the years and while I sympathise and empathise with the low self-esteem that is all too common an affliction, I am staying away! Never mind that they have what the world would deem as abundance and blessings, they just envy away the one little bit they don't have or perceive that you have in greater measure than them. Proverbs aptly puts it down to ''who can stand before jeolousy?" None. Not too keen about being the benchmark for someone to outdo to feel good. The worst is yet to be and only begins when despite numerous attempts, they are unable to outdo/acquire more.