“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” (Proverbs 14:30 NIV)
Envy has the power to destroy your life. It will rot your bones, and cause you untold strife. But a heart at peace gives life to the body. We all suffer from envy. Andy Stanley, in a message on envy years ago, helped me identify envy in my life. I couldn’t find that message, but here is another one of his messages on envy that is just as impactful.
Andy used this phrase: “It must be nice.” When you find yourself saying, “It must be nice…” about something, that is a sign of envy. It must be nice to be married to that person. It must be nice to have that job. It must be nice to make that much money. It must be nice to live there. It must be nice to have such good kids. It must be nice… Envy has the power to destroy your life, but “It must be nice…” has the power to save it. Identifying your envy can help you find peace in your heart.
Identifying your envy can help you find peace in your heart.
Envy is wanting something we don’t have that we feel we deserve. In reality, we don’t deserve anything. We don’t deserve to be born in America, we don’t deserve to have a democratic society that allows us freedom of religion and speech. Those are gifts from God that He gave us, just by being born in the United States. People around the globe are envious that we live in America. And we in America are envious of those around us who we perceive have a better life than us. Envy is a battle we all fight, but when we focus our eyes on Jesus, we’ll find peace.
Peace in our heart comes from being content with what we have, no matter what:
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:12-13 NIV)
Contentment can only come when we center our hearts on Jesus. We can find it through the strength Jesus gives us when we follow Him When we follow Him, we’ll find His peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:6-7 NIV). Instead of counting the blessings of others, we’ll count our own blessings. We’ll be grateful for what we do have, instead of what we don’t have. We’ll have peace that gives life to the body.
Question of the Day:
What have you said, “It must be nice…” about lately?
Further Reading: 1 Samuel 2:22-4:22 NIV, John 5:24-47 NIV, Psalm 106:1-12 NIV, Proverbs 14:30-31 NIV
