Among the popular Seven Deadly Sins, I struggle the most with envy. I guess it comes to me as naturally as the sunrise.
I hate it when a colleague does better than me, when my peers get attached or when someone else trumps me at the intellectual level.
This poison of envy not only makes me desire to have what others do, but to think of hurtful ways to obtain them. And thus it makes me hate myself even more. I was really a self-loathing green-eyed monster.
Yet it was this brutal envy that initiated my conversion to Christianity. I found that to my great delight, the things of the earth become much less important than the all-surpassing power of Christ.
Even in my envious days, I know the secret of being content-- I look at what gives me hope.
Let me end with Philippians 4:10-13:
10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
References
Gospel Coalition
The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment
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