THINK TOGETHER.
Do you ever wish that you had someone else’s life?
READ TOGETHER
Proverbs 14:30. A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.
To envy someone is to want their life.
“I wish I could be like so-and-so.”
“Why doesn’t God give me what he gave them?”
“Their life is so much better than mine.”
“You don’t treat me the way you treat them.”
Envy keeps you from being happy when someone else is rewarded, because you wish it had been you. Envy causes you to inwardly complain that you don’t have what others have. The person with envy is rarely content, rarely happy, and rarely satisfied. This is why Solomon says that envy rots the bones. It eats you up inside.
The opposite of this kind of envy is what we see in the first part of our proverb – a tranquil heart. This is the person who is peaceful inside. They don’ need more than what God has given to them. They are glad to be who they are and they don’t need to be anyone else.
Which are you? Envious of others, or at peace with who you are? Having Jesus living in our hearts should help us to answer this question. When we have Jesus we have all that we need and all that we could ever ask for. With Jesus there is no need to every envy another person’s life, instead we can trust that God has given us exactly the life he wants for us.
Because of Jesus we never have to envy another person.
With Jesus we can be content with all God has given us and made us to be.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Help your children overcome envy with gratitude. Have them make a list of things that are specific or unique to them that they are grateful for. Post the list in a place where they can see it and even add to it.
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus, free me from my envy by reminding me that I have all I need from you. Amen.
TLICfamily 