“Now listen to the words of the
LORD: Should there be a prophet among you, in visions will I reveal myself to
him, in dreams will I speak to him; not so with my servant Moses! Throughout my
house he bears my trust: face to face I speak to him; plainly and not in
riddles. The presence of the LORD he beholds. Why, then, did you not fear to
speak against my servant Moses?”
Jealously is a vice we all have
to struggle against. Sometimes when we see another person who is prospering or
blessed in some way, we start to wonder why they have all the luck. Worse yet,
if the person who is doing well is someone we dislike we might feel angry that
they are getting all the breaks. We start to grumble about our lot in life and
covet what others have in life, love, possessions, and whatever else we see
ourselves lacking. This envy of others worms its way into our relationships,
making us more and more spiteful, hollowing us out, eating away at all the
things we once took pleasure or solace in. When we fall into the temptation to
be jealous, this vice slowly but surely whittles away at joys and we find no
comfort in anything as long as others are doing better than us. This is why we
must nurture within ourselves a spirit of kindness. We should find joy in the
joy of others, even our enemies. We should celebrate the successes of others as
if they were our own. This empathy for our fellow children of God will help arm
us against the vice of envy which can only grow where self love overcomes
charity.
Are we jealous of anyone? If so,
then how can we ground our relationship with that person or persons in kindness
and love? What can we do to keep ourselves from being jealous of others?
O Lord, rid us of our jealousy
and in its place give us hearts full of kindness.
Amen.
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