DEALING WITH ENVY 2

James 4:3 (NIV)
3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

One of the things Adenike kept saying to herself was that she and Tinuke were mates, yet Tinuke has this and this, but she doesn’t. Her envy streamed from the idea that because she and Tinuke were classmates, Tinuke was not supposed to accomplish more than her in life.

This ‘we are mates’ or ‘I am not his mate’ mentality is a toxic one. In the race of destiny, nobody has mates, and those who run well are not those who look at their ‘mates’ as they run. They are those who look only unto Jesus as they run (see Heb 12:2).

Those who look at their ‘mates’ may end up focusing on the wrong things and running a different course from the one set out for them. This is a major reason people build unacceptably and would have their works burned up by the judgment fire of the Lord on that day (see 1 Cor 3:13-15).

Remember that God says that ‘they compare themselves with themselves, are not wise’ (2 Cor 10:12). Wisdom is not looking at how far you have gone in the context of your neighbor’s accomplishments. It is looking at how far you have gone in the context of God’s assignment for you in life. You will not know and focus on God’s unique assignment for your life if you spend your time comparing yourself with others.

When your prayers are based on comparing with others, they come from an impure motive. But when your prayers are based on your knowledge of where God wants you to be, they come from a pure motive, and they get God’s attention.

Prayer: Lord, please deliver me from comparing myself with others. Amen.