The Danger of Envy

See this little bungalow at my new kayaking launch site? This is why this portion of  Lake Wylie is NOT a good place for me to kayak. Who can go by a spread like this and not lust in their heart? Half my kayaking time was spent trying to convince myself I don't want or need a castle like that, right on the beautiful lake, with the charming Gazebo and dock.


I need to be very careful what my eyes feast upon. Here I was doing my favorite summer sport in perfect weather, and instead of being satisfied, I was looking with longing at palaces along the shore and thinking to myself, "What makes those people so different from me that they have that...and I don't?" When I saw them walking across their magnificent grounds, they didn't look any different than run of the mill people. Envy was creeping in, and threatened to overrun the simple joy of kayaking.

Proverbs 14:30 popped into mind: A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot. 

 I decided to meander through the tiny little coves that edged the main waterway. Some of them were less opulent, and a few had no mansions at all. Those were where I found Great Blue Herons fishing along shore. Many more turtles popped their heads up in the more peaceful, quiet waters. More shade trees overhung the narrow inlets, protecting me from the hot sun. More birds sang in the lush treetops reminding me that the God of all Creation made simple yet exquisite pleasures available to all.
**************

Philippians 2:3 

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

James 3:16 

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

1 Corinthians 13:4 

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant

Galatians 5:19-21 

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Proverbs 27:4 

Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?