Why is it that some of us are jealous and envious of others and their success stories? Why do we compare ourselves to others and the things they were/are able to achieve? We’ve all been there before. We despise how quick people are able to climb up in their ranks/position or we envy the opportunities they were able to accumulate throughout the years.
At times, when people are not Grateful for what they have, we think that if we ever had the same opportunities, we will be more thankful than they ever were. Jealousy comes from our competitive spirits of wanting to do/look better and comparing our lifestyles to people who are well off. But the thing is, if we ALWAYS compare ourselves with anyone who is doing slightly better than us, we’ll NEVER be happy.
Jealousy makes us bitter. Our spirits are down. We don’t know why the Lord is not blessing us with success/money. For others, riches comes so easily and for us, we have to work exceptionally hard to even get by. It’s even worse when the same people who were at the same level as ourselves are able to elevate higher. They’re able to live that life that we’ve always dreamt of living. They are able to splurge on Materialistic Things. Then we become distant from those people because we’re embarrassed that we’re still in the same state that they left us in. Am I right or am I right?
It’s either we become distant or the same “friends” are allowing success to get to their heads. They start acting bougie and/or different. They’re hanging out with people more affluent. Communication is stagnant, we barely hear from them anymore. Unfortunately, coming across people like this is inevitable. People do not know how to act when they feel like they’re “rich” or they have “connections.” “Sit down, be humble” – Kendrick Lamar voice. It’s no secret that the Lord can make someone a millionaire overnight or He can make an arrogant millionaire lose everything the next day. Nothing is certain so feeding energy into jealousy or despising someone for where they are in life only brings more internal harm to oneself than it does to the person they envy.
Never fear, the Lord will bless you in your journey when it is the right time! It could be a year from now or within the hour. The Lord works in mysterious ways so remaining faithful to Him and His timing is highly advised. Heck, it might even take 10 years but the moral of the story is that we’ll get there!
As mentioned in Death, doors that the Lord opens can never be shut and vice versa. Our opportunities may not come now, but if we exercise patience and faith within the Lord, He WILL come through because He knows what is best for us at any given moment.
Yes, I know it is hard to remain patient while everyone around us are doing well. Especially if they like to brag about where they started, their journey and where they ended up. I have no secret formula for patience nor do I exercise it correctly every single time. But I always remember my destiny is different and my path in life will be revealed to me when the Lord is ready. Furthermore, a part of my impatience comes from wanting a specific issue to be mediated as quickly as possible and not from urgently wanting to be successful.
For an example, if I am having technical issues on my blog, I want the technical issue to be sorted out immediately (anxiety). Or if I am looking for something and I cannot find it, I am impatiently and frantically searching for the lost item. In terms of rushing success or comparing myself to another human being, I am rather reserved and humbled. Everyone is different so I have to take life one day at a time without getting too caught up on things that inconvenient me.
Story Time
I remember taking a movie course in college and there was this cute white guy that was in my class. We were always cordial/friendly with each other. Out of respect, I will not mention his name. His new made up name, so the story flows easily, is Chris. Unknowingly, he was taking this course with his ex girlfriend, who he often sat next to. They were strictly friends at that point (Chris told me the relationship was toxic and he couldn’t do it anymore). To be honest, I thought they were related but I was mistaken.
Fast forward, I found out his ex would always mock me every time I spoke up in class or make side comments to Chris about me. Mind you, I never said one word to this girl. When Chris told me this, I was flabbergasted. And this wasn’t Chris’s attempt to make us have problems, I saw this for myself and he confirmed my suspicions. He told me I don’t have to worry about her, that she doesn’t matter. He also mentioned that she probably felt threatened by me, which was funny because I never cared for her nor did I ever think about her. She was just a classmate to me as much as Chris was so her being intimidated by me was weird.
Chris and I were really cool with each other. Even though, there were some friendly flirting moments – they were innocent in nature (nothing serious). I’m concluding that the reason she would mock me is because of our conversations. As if I had malicious intent on making her jealous. As if me speaking to Chris was only done to spite her. I was ANNOYED by her childish behavior. It was very tacky and unnecessary.
Instead of telling me how she felt, she would much rather diss me on the low. Regardless, if she had told me how she felt, it wouldn’t have changed anything that I was doing BUT I would’ve informed her that I had no issues with or ill feelings towards her.
Furthermore, that little situation during that semester was….. weird – to say the least. I was able to live rent free in her head over a guy she had not been with for over a year – SAD. But unfortunately, some women are like that. Men can be like that too. They won’t hesitate to speak about us behind our backs because they ASSUMED we’re after them by SPEAKING to someone they know or used to deal with. What? Make it make sense. Some people have to get over themselves because it is never that serious (in that instance). You prevented yourself from getting to know me because of jealousy. You rather not befriend me because you concluded that I was a problem.
Conclusion
Being jealous only weighs us down. We don’t benefit from it nor does it make us feel better. However, if some of us are the type to feed off of jealousy as a booster to do better, so be it! Comparing ourselves to others might be beneficial in that regard. But most importantly, we must remember that each and every one of us have different paths to take in this physical existence. No one is destined to follow in the shadows of another soul – unless the Lord says it is so.
Furthermore, we are all destined to do great things in our lives. If not, the Lord wouldn’t have created us in the first place. We each have a purpose to fulfill. Do not let jealousy cloud your judgment or steer you off your course. That is one way to be UNsuccessful. Do not pay attention to the millions of dollars others are making, just stay focused, stick to your grind and trust in the Lord – we’ll get there!
You may leave questions, comments and/or suggestions if you so choose. Thank you for reading and for checking out https://spiritualandlifediscussions.com. God bless!
Similar reading – Purpose in Life.
