The source of quarrel is envy


What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. James 4:1-3 (NLT)


With what's going around us -- the economic slide of the Western world, thuggery in London, our apathetic reaction to the famine in the horn of Africa, and our even more catatonic reactions to the Libyan and Syrian crises -- I ask where is the world leading to?

My answer: somewhere not better than where we are now.

Lust and envy, that's why.

So simple yet so true: the world is in turmoil because its citizens covet that which is not their's.

Confession: I have a friend whom I resent for no reason. I hate everything he does and regard his opinion as 'too worldly' whereas mine is 'wisdomly savvy'...until a painful realisation ensues: I envy him.

The reason I hate him is because he is everything I wanted to be. I wanted what he has. Where he is extrovertly active -- enjoying the company of people, joining various endeavours and reaping its rewards through awards and accollades -- I am introvertly living in a shell of self-centeredness.

Nothing has changed yet (I'm an old dog learning new 'lessons') but, a pace at a time, I'm slowly learning to accept the differences in people. Others have more because they have more responsibilities. Others have little, and although they too have responsibilities, it's to a smaller sphere.

I believe that beautiful, rich, powerful people sleep less soundlier than simple people like I.

I shouldn't envy. Instead I should ask God to give me that which is lacking in me.

I heard this from Ophra: Be careful of what you pray for because it may come true, which brings me to what James said about asking and receiving.

I sometimes call myself Imee because my prayers are centered to what I want, what I need, what I hope for for myself, what I dream to achieve. And my motives? So that I would feel and be 'better' than others.

I have stopped praying for what I want because, a sinner that I am, God has remained faithful and giving to me. In fact He has never failed in giving me what I truly need -- the basic things: a shelter, a job, family and friends, and a growing faith in Him.

Let's count ourselves blessed than other people. We have jobs and are able to help our family with our earnings. Our family is not in one of the shelters in Somalia waiting for help to come.

Prayer: May we count ourselves blessed with what we have, and may we share what we have to our needy brothers -- unconditionally, whole-heartedly with joy, and if at all possible, without anyone knowing it.

[You may want to call it as a turnaround from the usual nothingness that I post in this blog. For quite a long time, I hope to 'live' whatever is that I profess to believe in. Although I'm failing big time most of the time, I believe in the proverbial line that says it's not the fall, it's the rising up that counts.

And so this may be a start of -- but in no way means I will not post nothingness anymore -- my personal attestments to the powers of the Word. I'm not a saint; I'm a sinner trying to find His ways in this world.
]

3 Responses

  1. Missy says:

    You're correct the source of quarrel is really "envy." Actually envy is one of the acts of the flesh according to Galatians 5:19-21 and those who live like that will not inherit the kingdom of GOd. Hehehe nagiging religious na tayo ah hehehe, good for you Nebz. And I learned that bible really speaks for our past, present and future. Noon pa man alam na ng Diyos na magiging makasarili tayo at mainggitin kaya nga kahit sa bible winarningan na Niya tayo. Even the history nasa bible din, amazing pero it's really enlightening when we read the bible.

  2. BlogusVox says:

    "the source of quarrel is envy" is subjected. Envy is just one of the many flaws of the human psyche. Disagreement on a philosophy or an idea may also cause quarrel. A supposed insult or a misplaced word may also result to a quarrel.

    A pained ego is the real source of quarrel.

  3. Great post. I never thought that my nickname could be Imee, too! Thanks for the great reminder and for turning our focus back on God and not on "Imee". Will feature this in my next newsletter. Thank you.

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