Be wary of envy

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

THIS is a common problem. To be blunt, it happens because one’s intentions are not pure. Rather they bear a lot of ulterior motives that only focus on one’s self-interest.

We have to be wary of envy. And to protect ourselves from it, we need to see to it that our intentions are always pure, that is, everything should be done out of pure love for God and neighbor irrespective of the circumstances.

Even if things give us some inconveniences or some unfairness, we should simply keep our love, as shown to us by Christ, intact and alive. And to attain that state of mind, what we have to do is simply to forget oneself and to think only of God and the good of the others.

It pays also to have a sporting attitude toward life and to have a good and healthy sense of humor. These can only happen if our belief in what St. Paul once said is strong and deep. “All things work together for good to them that love God,” he said. (Rom 8,28)

We therefore have to develop a strong spiritual sportsmanship in the tenor expressed in some words of St. Paul: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.” (1 Cor 9,24)

Aside from a strong sense of self-discipline and submitting ourselves in a continuing training program, an indispensable ingredient of this healthy sporting spirit is the sense of acceptance and abandonment that we need to deliberately cultivate. This does not come automatically, as if it’s part of our genes. We have to develop them.

We have to learn to accept things the way they are or the way they can be. Yes, it’s true that we can shape things and events in our life. We can even shape persons to a certain extent.

Also, the need to integrate humor into our life has to be understood on the basis of God’s unwavering love for us. We have no reason to plunge into deep worry and anxiety, no matter how big our difficulties are, since God will take care of everything, for as long as we at least don’t formally go against him.

Yes, we can still commit mistakes and all kinds of sins even with our best intentions and efforts. But as long as we go back to him, everything will be just fine. Those sins and mistakes, in God’s providence, can also occasion bigger graces from God.

We have to be cheerful all the way, deliberately training ourselves in this field, since with our human weakness and some adverse world conditions, we can easily be overcome by worry and anxiety.

Cheerfulness, even in its form of naughty humor, has very salutary effects and advantages. It makes us see things better. It makes us more flexible and more able to handle varying situations.

With these traits, we can somehow manage to avoid falling into envy when we feel that others are getting ahead of us while we seem to be lagging behind. We can manage to avoid comparing ourselves to others unduly. We can manage to think well of everyone even if we see some unfairness in our dealings.

We have to learn how to slay envy everytime it makes us its port of call. We have to let it know immediately that it is unwelcome. And the way to do it is to go to Christ immediately, praying, sacrificing, and reminding ourselves of Christ’s example and teaching.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com