Here I am, living a godly life, keeping my heart and hands clean, avoiding sin, meditating on the things of God and devoting myself to a life pleasing God, yet despite this I am facing all kinds of troubles. What’s the advantage in serving God if he doesn’t protect me?
We begin now to see the roots of the envy to which the Psalmist referred earlier: For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Envy is born out of two things: ignorance and a wrong comparison.
Take, first, a wrong comparison. Almost all or problems begin in a wrong comparison. How true this is. We compare our looks, our height, our income, our homes, our training and our abilities with those of others and soon we lose sight of our own individuality and specialness. To compare ourselves with Christ is a healthy spiritual discipline, but to indulge in comparison with those we think are more prosperous and fortunate than we are is direct road to envy.
O God, save me, I pray, from the habit of wrongly comparing myself with others. Help me to satisfy the impulse I have for making comparisons only in a way that will yield spiritual gain – by comparing myself only with You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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