A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot (Prov. 14:30 ESV).
Love does not envy (1 Cor. 13:4 ESV).
“You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor” Exodus 20:17 NLT).
Godliness with contentment is great gain 1 Tim. 6:6 (NIV).
Heavenly Father, this tapestry of Scriptures is both convicting and consoling. It’s convicting, because on a daily basis (sometimes hourly), I realize I can be envious of anyone in sight, and covetous of anything within reach.
I can get envious of people who have less hassles and more resources; people who can play harder and require less sleep; people who can eat a whole cake and lose weight; extroverts who have limitless people energy, while I constantly have to refuel my introvert’s tank.
I don’t covet my neighbor’s ox or donkey, but I’d love to have their pain-free knees and lower back, ability to run every day and do every Yoga stretch. I don’t covet my neighbor’s male or female servant, but I would love his/her ability to fix whatever breaks in the house and car; write songs, cook French pastry, and paint watercolor landscapes.
But as convicting as these verses are, Father, they are even more consoling to me. Because through the gospel I’ve come to realize (and believe most of the time) that all I really need is Jesus plus what you choose to give me. You are a good, good, and generous Father.
If I had everything I covet and want, it’d never be enough. Indeed, ingratitude is soul-cancer; comparison is heart disease; and envy is an idol factory. There’s a Jesus shaped void in our hearts that only Jesus is big, beautiful, and bountiful enough to fill. Thankfully, he has and continues to do so. So very Amen I pray, in Jesus’ matchless and magnificent name.
