Out of the Depths, Part 4

Envy is wanting what you think other people have because you think it will make you happy. Our constant striving–for more, for bigger, for better–betrays the fact that there is a deep longing in the soul of every human being that we do not know how to satisfy. In Psalm 73, the story of Asaph’s struggle with envy was finally resolved when He got his heart and his eyes focused back on the God of the universe.

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Proverbs 14:30
A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

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Envy is wanting what (you think) other people have because (you think) it will make you happy.

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Blaise Pascal, Pensees
“What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is a trace? This man tries in vain to fill with everything around him…though none can help. This infinite abyss can be filled only with God himself.”

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Psalm 73:1-2
Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.

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Psalm 73:3-5
I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills.

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Envy infects everyone.

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Envy infects our relationships.

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1 Samuel 18:7
As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”

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1 Samuel 18:8-9
Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.

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Envy infects our view of God.

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Psalm 73:12-14
This is what the wicked are like—always free of care, they go on amassing wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.

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Psalm 73:16-17
When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.

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An open-handed life is the antidote to envy.

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Envy is wanting what (you think) other people have because (you think) it will make you happy.

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Jealousy is wanting to keep what (you think) is yours safe from others who (you think) will harm it.

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Psalm 24:1
The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.

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Exodus 34:14
Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

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CS Lewis
We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us; like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

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Psalm 73:25-26
Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

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