Jealousy and Envy – The Joy Stealers

Proverbs 14:30 - A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

​Jealousy and envy can chip away the happiness we have in our lives. This applies to not only our general lives, but when someone battles a chronic health condition. We can become jealous of the lives of people who don’t face this battle every day. I know they have some kind of battle they fight, but they may not find pain at every corner. We can also envy other people’s lives as we watch them leave for work or meeting up with a friend. Why do others not face the daunting life of pain? But you’ll never find peace or joy in your life if you keep looking at healthy people’s lives. You don’t know what’s really going on in other people’s lives. It may be that they are healthy, but perhaps a spouse or parent battles health issues. That can be like experiencing it in your own body because you hurt to see them suffer. We all have pain in our life one way or the other. Keep that in mind the next time you’re tempted to want someone else’s life. And remember that God sees everyone’s lives, including yours. Let him wash away your jealousy and envy and give you the goal of praying for the people you think are leading a healthy life, because God can give us the gift of thinking and praying for others no matter what their lives look like, and in return he will help your heart to feel joy.