When envy takes over

A greedy man and an envious man were walking down a road when a stranger befriended them. Before the stranger left, he told them that he would leave a gift for each one of them. The stranger’s gifts were: A wish come true for the first one to make a wish; and for the second one, a double portion of what the first had wished for. The greedy man knew what he wanted, but he was afraid to make his wish because he wanted the double portion for himself and didn’t want the other to get it. The envious man felt the same way so he was also unwilling to wish first. After a while, the stronger of the two grabbed the other by the throat and said that he would choke him to death unless he makes his wish. At that, the other man said, “Very well! I make my wish – I wish to be made blind in one eye.” Immediately he lost the sight of one eye, and his companion went blind in both. Greed and envy are the perfect twins for courting disaster in life.

F. B. Meyer was pastor of Christ’s Church in London at the same time that G. Campbell Morgan was pastor of Westminister Chapel and Charles H. Spurgeon was pastor of the Metropolitan Chapel. Both Morgan and Spurgeon often had audiences much larger than Meyer did. Troubled by envy, Meyer confessed that not until he began praying for his colleagues did he have peace of heart. “When I prayed for their success,” said Meyer, “the result was that God filled their churches so full that the overflow filled mine, and it has been full since.”

At least Meyer did the right thing. Unfortunately most people I know do not. Rather than praying for the success of others, they wish those others will fail, and some would even go out of their way to plot and scheme the destruction of the people they envy.

Have you ever tasted success? I bet you have. And have you ever experienced losing some of your “friends” because they’ve become your enemies after witnessing your success? True friends celebrate our successes and are not bothered or threatened by it. Poser friends are not only bothered or threatened – some of them may even go nasty, hurling unfair accusations and throwing mud to malign your name and credibility.

Jerome P. Fleishman says, “Always there will be, along the sidelines of life, inferior souls who throw mud at those whose attainments they do not quite understand. The man who really accomplishes doesn’t pay attention to such detractors. If he did, he’d be on their level. He keeps an eye singled on the higher goal – and the mud never touches him.”

Meanwhile, Judith Jamison says: “So many people dwell on negativity and I’ve survived by ignoring it: it dims your light and it’s harder each time to turn the power up again.”

Do not play the same game mud throwers play. Popular TV morning show host Bernadette Sembrano once told me something I will never forget. She said, “In our business we have been at the receiving end of endless intrigues, false accusations and mud-throwing. And if you are experiencing the same thing then welcome to the club. But always remember this: people who know you would not believe the mud thrown against you, and people who do not know you don’t even care, so why sweat the small stuff?” What great words of wisdom.

What is envy? Envy is simply greed directed at others who have what we want! And what’s wrong with greed? Greed will get you what you want but will rob you of what you already have.

It’s important to develop the ability to celebrate other people’s success and remove envy out of our hearts in order to succeed. Losers want others to fail so they can succeed. Winners want everyone to succeed, and then challenge themselves to perform better every day. A Greek proverb says, “As rust corrupts iron, so envy corrupts man.”

Set your standards on God’s grace and mercies. Then learn to give thanks in whatever situation you find yourself in. And when someone else experiences success, learn to celebrate with them. In doing so, you already become successful!

(Attend this once in a lifetime seminar on “The Leadership Factor” featuring Dr. Harold Sala, Francis Kong and Jim Collins (video), on Nov. 27 at the SMX Convention Center. Call Pam or Kriselle of Inspire Leadership Consultancy Inc. at 632-6872614 or 09178511115 for further details.)