Definition

ENVY – a dissatisfaction with what God has given to you; a hatred of the “hand you’ve been dealt.”

Note: Envy and Pride (the next sin) are very closely related. There is a great deal of overlap in the next two weeks’ meditations.

Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

One of the easiest ways to identify envy is to identify what it is not. Envy and pride [v 4] do not result from love.

Envy can sometimes be identified by a hatred for what I have been given. Pride is sometimes manifested by an obsession of what I have been given. In both cases, the thinking derives from a self-centered world view. They come from believing that I deserve the best – and if I do not see what I have as the best, then I hate it. If I do, I obsess about it. The proper perspective is contentment in what I have [Philippians 4:11].

Jesus, I confess a hatred of what I have been given. I confess that I have an unhealthy obsession with something I have not been given, and it has corrupted my thinking.