My book, The Teacher, explores aspects of daily life that touch us all, and considers the best way to approach them. It does so, though, not on the basis of some arbitrary judgement of my own, but exploring rather words of the Teacher (almost certainly, King Solomon) from the Old Testament. Then, and only then, do I reflect further on what these words may have to say to us today. This session considers the vice of envy, and the folly, bitterness and dissatisfaction to which it so easily leads.
Envy
The child opened his present in wonder and delight, rejoicing at the gift – until a friend showed what she had received, and suddenly his joy was tarnished, his pleasure lessened, his thoughts no longer on what he’d received but on what he’d been denied.
The worker received a rise, and celebrated – until she learnt that others had received more, and suddenly her increase was no longer an extra but an insult, a slight rather than a bonus.
The couple moved into their new home, and life was good – until they passed the new estate down the road, and in a moment what they had formerly treasured they began to despise, and what had previously satisfied now stuck in their craw.
Then I asked the Teacher, ‘Explain this to me.’
And the Teacher replied, ‘All human effort and striving derive from people’s envy of one another. All are empty, a futile chasing after the wind.’
And the words rang true, for I too have believed myself fortunate until I contemplated the plenty of a neighbour. And just as I can be jealous of them, I know others may be jealous of me – each of us part of an endless and futile cycle. For no matter how high we rise, how much we have, there will still always be someone seemingly with more.
I saw then that envy will not bring what we covet any nearer; merely make us less content with our lot, turning a garden into desert, a harvest into famine, bounty into barrenness.
And I understood that though we may seem to have little, we are not necessarily the poorer, for the one who apparently has everything may, in truth, have nothing, and the lot of those we envy may be less rosy than it seems.
Then I said to the Teacher, ‘Show me, then, where envy leads.’
And the Teacher answered, ‘A contented heart leads to health, but envy eats into one’s very bones.’
And I saw the truth of that not just in myself but in the world around me; in people consumed by bitterness and resentment, and relationships broken through jealousy; in friends estranged, wealth and success having driven a wedge between them, trust overwhelmed by suspicion and camaraderie by enmity.
Then I understood the words of the Teacher: ‘Wrath is forbidding, anger is overwhelming, but who is able to stand before envy?’
The lesson is this: envy may be understandable, but it is never advisable, for in the endless quest for gain lies the surest path to loss. Better to count your own blessings than those of a neighbour, for there will be no time left then to envy the good fortune of others. Brood not over what you wish you had; celebrate instead what you have today, and be thankful.