Envy is so destructive that the Bible compares it with the decay of bones. (Proverbs 14:30) says: "The peaceful heart is the life of the flesh; But envy rots the bones"
The Hebrew word that has been translated as woodworm has its root in a word that means something that is rotten. Boneworm therefore denotes a serious health disorder whereby bones are in the process of putrefaction. This is how God sees envy.
(Proverbs 17: 4) says about the harmfulness of envy: "Cruel is anger, and raging is impetuous; But who can sustain themselves in the face of envy?
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It tells a fable that in one day an envious and a greedy one walked together. In that, they see an old vessel covered in dust, lying on the side of the road. The envious man takes it, takes out his handkerchief to clean the dust and when rubbing it with the handkerchief, oh surprise! From the old vessel comes a little genie and says: Thank you for having freed me from my prison. In gratitude for such a noble gesture, I want to make a gift to both of you. The gift will consist of whatever you want, but with one condition. One of the two will be able to choose the gift, while the other will receive a double portion. The envious knew exactly what he would most like to have, but he also knew that he could not bear the envy of seeing the greedy one have twice as much as him. That's why I expected the greedy to choose the gift. The greedy on his part, also had his preference as to what he would like to receive, but his greed forced him to have twice as much of the envious. Therefore, he was also waiting for the envious to choose the gift. Thus they looked at each other in silence for a long time. At last the envious one rushed to the neck of the greedy one and squeezing it with all his strength he said to him: Choose the gift or I kill you. Barely regained his breath, all scared, the greedy said: It's okay, it's okay ... I'll choose the gift. I want to be blind in one eye. Instantly he lost his sight in one eye, while the envious one lost sight in both eyes. The moral of this fable is that envy never pays well to those who tolerate it in their hearts.
The Bible shows that the children of Jacob harbored envy against their brother Joseph. (Genesis 37:11) says: "And his brothers envied him, but his father meditated on this."
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Eventually, this envy degenerated into an assassination attempt that only the providential hand of God managed to avoid. In any case, José ended up being sold as a slave by his own brothers.
Things like that can lead to envy. If I asked you this question: Are you envious? What would be your response? I am sure that some would admit to themselves that they are envious, although they may not dare to admit it externally.
But maybe others, honestly would not know if they are envious or not. If this is your case, then it may help to know what the symptoms of an envious person are.
Do you feel uncomfortable when someone you know achieves success in the field where you are also trying to get it?
Let's say that you are a footballer and your best friend, also a footballer, has scored the most goals in the football championship, while you have not scored any. How do you feel? Is there that feeling of: why him and why not me? Well that is envy.
Another symptom of envy is the tendency to criticize people who are trying to achieve the same thing we do. Are you the kind of person who thinks you should throw mud at others so that you look cleaner than them? This is precisely what those who criticize others do.
Deteriorating the image of others through criticism, they think that they will improve their own image. What motivates this behavior is envy. We do not feel comfortable with the fact that others do better than us and we make every effort to reduce it to the slightest expression. That's envy.
Another symptom of envy is the tendency to maximize our achievements and minimize the achievements of others. Are you that kind of person who, when it comes to talking about what you do, describes it as the most wonderful thing you can have, but when it comes to talking about what someone else is doing, you describe it as something insignificant? If so, you have allowed envy to lodge in your heart.
I hope that by responding honestly to the questions asked, you have been able to identify if there is envy in your life or not. Assuming that envy has already nested in your heart, would you like to know how to eradicate it? For it is necessary to take several steps in prayer and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The first step is to recognize that envy is sin. Envy is a fruit of the flesh. (Galatians 5: 19-21) says: "And manifest are the works of the flesh, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, strife, dissensions, heresies, envies , homicides, drunkenness, orgies, and similar things; about which I admonish you, as I have told you before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. "
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There he has a kind listener, envy is one of the members of that unworthy set called: Works of the flesh. Envy is therefore a sin. If you want to eradicate envy from your heart, you must begin to see envy as God sees it, as sin.
Step number two is to confess to God the sin of envy. Each time this discomfort arises for the good of another, acknowledge it as sin and turn to the presence of God to confess it. (1 John 1: 9) says: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"
No matter how many times it is necessary, whenever envy manifests, confess it to God as sin. God will forgive you and cleanse your heart and You will have taken an important step to get rid of envy.
The third step requires that you make a commitment before God to always seek the welfare of others. (Philippians 2: 4 says: "Not each of you looks for your own thing, but each one also for the other's"
To defeat the envy in your heart, it is necessary to record in your head that one of your goals is to seek the good of others. If this thought is part of your natural way of thinking, then there will be no place for envy in your heart.
Let's suppose that one of your friends has just bought a last model car. That is very good for him. But as one of his goals was to seek the good of others, the fact that his friend has received this great good, will not bother him at all, but rather make him feel happy. Envy will not have had an opportunity to enter your heart, because beforehand you had closed the door.
The fourth step is to express in practical ways the joy for the good of another. The Bible says in (Romans 12:15) "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn "
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