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In John 21, Jesus has specific directions for Peter, giving him the responsibility to feed His lambs and sheep. Then, the Lord makes that ominous statement about Peter’s impending death. But when Peter sees John standing by, he asks “Lord, what about him?”

Do you ever find yourself perfectly content . . . until you hear about someone else’s blessings?

You are happy with your new dress until you see your friend sporting that amazing designer label.

You’re proud that your son took first place at the talent show until you hear your nephew is heading off to study music at Julliard.

You’re thrilled to finally be able to repaint the living room and recover that old couch, until you see the moving van pull up to your neighbor’s house—they are moving to the swanky neighborhood uptown.

I remember the time I was so worked up over silly wallpaper. With anticipation, I had been planning and saving to spiff up my kitchen. The day came and the order was finally placed; I was grateful and excited . . . that is, until I heard that a good friend had chosen the same paper. Not only that, but she was also going to use similar designer paper to cover every wall in her house! I was envious . . . and miffed, no longer grateful for what the Lord had provided for me.

Don’t think this doesn’t happen at every level of society, even every level of ministry. Why was she asked to lead and I, great spiritual giant that I am, was passed over? We find ourselves suddenly helpless in the grip of that green-eyed monster, envy.

In Nelson W. Aldrich Jr.’s Old Money, he says that “envy is so integral and painful a part of what animates human behavior . . . It begins with the almost frantic sense of emptiness inside oneself, as if the pump of one’s heart were sucking on air.”

How often we’re like Peter: overly preoccupied about what God is doing in other people’s lives and how we measure up to them. We become engrossed with comparing our families, our careers, even our ministries, instead of cherishing the things we are given and paying attention to our own affairs. I find it very interesting that it has been said, “Envy is the small-minded cousin of pride.” Ouch. Who would think that what we may consider a tiny, secret sin would be a close relative to the deadly sin of pride? But if we take a moment to examine our hearts, how often are we ungrateful because we believe we know better than God what and how much we should have. Would we trade our sovereign Lord for a genie in a bottle?

I read that the Latin word for envy (invidia) translates as “non-sight.” One might even think of envy as selective blindness or seeing things inside out. In Dante’s Inferno, he depicts the envious plodding along under cloaks of lead, their eyes sewn shut with leaden wire. They are blind to what they have been given by God and what He has prepared for them.

Coming back to Peter, D.A. Carson comments, “It’s all so pathetic, so self-focused, so sinful. Jesus tells Peter, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I come, what is that to you? You must follow me’ (John 21:22). The diversity of gifts and graces is enormous; the only Master we must please is Jesus.”

The apostle Paul wrote these memorable words to his young protégé Timothy: “But godliness [actually] is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:6 NAS).