The Green Eyed Monster

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

Envy~ to be discontented at the possession of another of what one would like for oneself; malicious grudging. It's the green-eyed monster that creeps into every woman's life at one point or another, and for some of us at more points and more times than we care to admit.

Nancy Beach, in her book, Gifted to Lead, writes more eloquently about envy than I can, so I am quoting her for the rest of my blog.

"We envy because there is a difference between who we are and who we feel we should be or who others insist we should be. Our culture is obsessed with comparisons...Betsy Cohen writes that, 'we encourage everyone to earn more money, to look better, to do better, to learn more, to have more. Our society creates inevitable comparison and inevitable dissatisfaction.'

Where does our envy come from and what can we do to combat this green-eyed monster?...Each of us is most susceptible to envy in the arenas in which we feel most vulnerable or weak. Women...who are not at peace with their identities or confident in the choices they have made can doubt themselves to the point where they tear down others in an effort to boost their own worth.

Envy is such an embarrassing sin because it is petty and it creeps around with such subtlety that we often don't realize it's there until it has morphed into a simmering bitterness....Our coveting creates a distance between us and God and between us and others. When I am envious, I can't truly be grateful or productive because I am too busy feeling deprived...

Our path out of envy will require us to come out of hiding, redirect our thoughts and energy, and believe the best about other women (and ourselves!!!)."

(from Nancy Beach, Gifted to Lead, Zondervan publishing, pp 155-157)