Today I prayed with a plan. The plan did not cover all the issues I am dealing with, but I thought tackling one issue at a time might be a better way to start. So I shared my plan with the Lord, hoping that I am on the same page He is, and with the intent to follow any guidance He will give me.
My scripture study focus is on Genesis 26:14 which mentions a problem that requires some attention:
"For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him."
The 'he' in this verse refers to Isaac. Isaac is doing well in Abimelech's land and the people of the land are noticing his wealth, and envy him, which leads them to vandalize and sabotage Isaac's wells. What leads people to such behavior?
What is Envy?
First, we need to define envy: to desire something that belongs to another (Guide to the Scriptures). I think the word desire is not strong enough; to envy is to covet or be jealous of. A person can have righteous desires, but there is nothing righteous about coveting or jealousy. In Ecclesiastes 4:4 the word envy is described as 'vanity and vexation of spirit'.
Envy has been a problem since the time of Adam, just think about Cain and Abel. It became such a problem among the Hebrews that the Lord gave a commandment regarding envying or coveting:
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s." (Exodus 20:17).
Envy is such a big problem that it is talked about in the Old and New Testaments, the Book of Mormon, and in the Doctrine and Covenants. Why has envy been so hard for us to overcome?
The Root of Envy
In a talk titled, "Stripped of Envy”, by Pam Wilson Vandenaker, the root of envy is described as:
"The practice of comparing ourselves to others is usually at the root of envy. It causes us to feel that we aren’t good enough and that in order to be acceptable we have to achieve more, acquire more, or in other ways appear to be “better” than others. It occurs when we do not value ourselves sufficiently as children of God and consequently feel we have to prove our worth by “doing” or “having.”"
Envy is a form of pride and pride creates enmity, or hatred, which separates us from our fellowmen.
I have found myself on this side of envy. It is not a pretty picture. It led to terrible mistakes and lots of hurt feelings. I did not attack the person's property, like the Philistines, my attach was much more personal, I went after the person's character. This is one of those dark times in my life for which I am not very proud of my behavior. It didn't take long before I started to feel the vexation of spirit, which led to sorrow and a desire for forgiveness. Luckily, the person was forgiving and I learned a very important lesson, I don't do envy well!
The Other Side
Like most of us, I have also been the victim of envy. I have to say that I was not very comfortable on this side of the issue either. There are strong emotions that surface when you feel attacked and you are not always mature enough to deal with these emotions in a positive way. Looking back, I wish I would have read Genesis 26 during these trying times, because Isaac gives us a great example of how to deal with envy.
First he recognizes the problem and removes himself from the situation (Gen. 26:16-17)
He doesn't let it get to him, he gets back to work (Gen. 26:18)
When strife appears again, he doesn't get angry, he moves again and keeps doing his work (Gen. 26:19-22)
He focuses on the blessings in his life, not the problems (Gen. 26:22)
Because of Isaac's choices, the Lord appears and renews the covenant He had made with Abraham, with Isaac. He receives more blessings! Since envy does not appear to be leaving this world any time soon, it would be nice to have the skills to deal with these difficult situations in such a way that we receive blessings from it. Fortunately, the Lord has given us the resources we need to learn these skills, what we do with these resources is up to us.
I have a quote that helped me see the true nature of envy that I would like to share with you:
"Envy is counting the other fellow's blessings instead of your own." ~Harold Coffin
Whose blessings do you want to count?
Whose blessings do you want to count?
Love that quote!
ReplyDeletestealing it.