Three weeks and going strong!  If this is your first time here, welcome to the series.  You can catch up on the rest of the series by starting at the introduction found here.

I seemed to be somewhat obsessed with this, because I also wrote about Envy here as well.  For some, it may seem like I already covered this, but there will be some new elements to this.

Defining Envy

Envy is defined as:

(1)The immoderate desire to acquire good that belong to others for oneself; even unjustly.

(2) A feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck.

 While I have discussed envy before, and you can check out my post, The Problem With Envy, this sin does have two sides of its coin.

Two Sides of Envy

Saddness.  A person can be sad at seeming the good fortune and blessing of another.  This feeling of sadness usually makes a person uncomfortable, but it’s there.  In this cause instead of just accepting that good things are at work for the other person, we try to make up excuses why we don’t have these things in our lives.

Pleasure or Joy at their downfall.  This..this is where a lot of people fall into.  Some take great pleasure at seeing other people fail.  Some start to feel a confidence boost when they find out that things didn’t exactly go the way the other person was planning.  

Getting Into The Fighting Mode

So how can we stop the feelings of envy-or at least stop it in it’s tracks?  The opposite virtue of envy is: Charity, Good-Will, and Abandonment to Define Providence.

1. Pray.  You are going to need all the prayers you can get.  Believe it (or not) but envy can be very disastrous to ourselves and those around us.  We sometimes thing that we are only feeling it, but the way we feel comes out by the way we talk with one another, and how we describe each other.  Before you say anything about anyone (especially that person who we think they think they know it all) we have to check ourselves.

2. Don’t Tear Down.  No need to tear down another person’s reputation.  Stop yourself before you say anything negative about another person to yourself or to someone who you meet.  Instead, try to share something positive about them.  

Upset that someone’s moving further along at work?  Instead of sulking about it, rejoice in their accomplishments.  You’ll be surprised how quickly your thoughts would change from negative to positive.

3. Learn From Them.  This is a perfect opportunity to better yourself.  You can use this time to learn from them, find out what works so that you can improve on yourself.  Instead of using energy to tear down, you’ll be using you energy to build yourself up.

4. Dismiss Negative Talk and Gossip.  This can be the hardest, but a lot of the time, when someone is going to gossip about another person, there is sometimes hints of jealousy and envy lurking nearby.  It’s hard to tell the source of why the gossiper is gossiping, but sometimes, it’s just to tear someone down.

Again, the only way to know if this is your vice is to practice self-examination.  

Do you feel envious sometimes?  Does that feeling cause you to talk bad about people who you know?  How do you try to overcome the Envy you feel in your life?