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Love That Overcomes Envy | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

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Think about the last time a Co worker, someone with your
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percents title, your tenure, your background received a
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massive unexpected promotion. Oh, that is a tough scenario to
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picture. Right.
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Did you feel like pure, unadulterated joy for them, or
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did your stomach just drop? I think most people would admit
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to the stomach. Drop.
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Yeah. Did you feel a sudden sharp
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tightening in your chest? Well, welcome to reformed
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thinking. Today, we're taking a deep dive
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into that specific sickening drop in your stomach.
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And we are looking at a text from the 18th century that
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argues that feeling is not just some passing bad mood.
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No, it's not. It is, according to the text, a
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literal spiritual cancer designed to devour you from the
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inside out. Our guide for this diagnosis is
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Jonathan Edwards. We're looking specifically at
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his sermon series Charity and Its Fruits.
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Right where he dissects First Corinthians 13 four, which
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states very simply charity, envy, if not.
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So our mission for this deep dive is to understand the true
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anatomy of envy. We want to figure out why you
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feel diminished when someone else succeeds.
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You know how that feeling manipulates your actions, and
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what the theological antidote is for a heart that is so prone to
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this kind of comparison? Edwards wastes absolutely no
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time and establishing the severity of this condition.
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I mean, he uses some striking imagery right out of the gate.
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It's a very visceral way to frame our discussion, isn't it?
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It really is. He describes an envious
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disposition as an eating cancer that preys on the vitals.
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Wow and eating cancer. Yeah, and he also compares an
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envious person to a Caterpillar. A Caterpillar like the insect.
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Yes. Think about what a Caterpillar
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does in a garden. A Caterpillar doesn't just eat
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random dead leaves, it delights most in devouring those
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flourishing, beautiful trees and plants.
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Oh, so it targets the healthy stuff?
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Precisely. Envy is not categorized here as
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a minor character flaw or a slight personality quirk.
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It is a destructive force that actively consumes life.
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Right. It eats away the life of the
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person harboring it, and it seeks to consume the flourishing
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of the person it's directed toward.
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And Edwards positions the Spirit as the absolute antithesis of
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divine charity. Because if a Christian spirit of
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charity builds up, envy acts as that cat pillar, right?
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Yeah, seeking out what is green, growing and beautiful
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specifically to tear it down. That sets a very serious tone
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for our analysis. It frames envy as a lethal
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threat to the soul that requires like surgical precision to
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isolate and remove. It does, but before we can talk
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about removing it, we have to isolate what it actually is.
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And I appreciate how precisely the source material pins it
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down, because it's not just wanting what someone else has.
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Right. Wanting what someone else has is
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covetousness. Envy is darker.
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Much darker, Edwards defines it as a spirit of dissatisfaction
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with and opposition to the prosperity and happiness of
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others as compared with our own. The pivot point of that entire
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definition rests on the concept of comparison.
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Yeah, the comparative element is huge here.
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The source material states that the thing the envious person is
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opposed to is the comparative superiority of another state of
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honor or happiness. It's a fascinating psychological
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insight into how our minds calculate status.
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You know, it really is. The envious person isn't
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necessarily angry that someone else has a good thing, they are
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angry that the other person has a better thing.
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Right. Or has something that elevates
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them above where they currently stand.
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The text asserts that human nature possesses a built in
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disposition where men love to be uppermost.
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We want to be at the top of the pile.
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Yeah, and when we see others above us, that innate
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disposition is crossed. So we perceive another person's
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success not as a neutral fact of their life, but as a personal
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demotion in ours. That word comparative is the
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engine of the entire envious mechanism.
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Men dislike the prosperity of others because they think it
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makes those who possess it superior in some respect to
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themselves. But the text takes it a step
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further, doesn't it, noting something even more revealing
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about human depravity. It does.
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From this same disposition, a person might even dislike
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another being equal to them in honor or happiness.
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Wait, really? Even just being equal.
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Yes, the observation is made that men cannot bear a rival
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much, if any, better than the superior.
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That's incredible. Why is that?
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The underlying reason provided is that men love to be singular
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and alone in their eminence and advancement.
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So it's not enough to be successful.
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The corrupt human heart desires to be uniquely successful.
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Precisely. The presence of an equal
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diminishes that perceived uniqueness.
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If someone else shares the spotlight, the spotlight feels
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less bright. The envious mind views the world
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as a strict hierarchy, like a 0 sum game where any elevation of
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a neighbor automatically results in a lowering of the self.
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Yeah, the prosperity of others becomes an intolerable affront
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to this intense desire for singular, solitary eminence.
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Which explains a really interesting quirk about how this
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operates in our daily lives. What do you mean?
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Well, we rare early experience this kind of bitter, chest
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tightening envy toward strangers who are vastly beyond our social
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or professional sphere. Right.
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We envy our peers. Yeah, we envy our equals.
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Think about runners in a marathon.
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If I'm a casual weekend jogger, I don't harbor deep seething
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resentment toward the elite world class athlete who finishes
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3 hours ahead of me. No, because they are in a
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completely different universe. There's no comparative threat
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there. Exactly.
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I mean spot on, but if there is a runner right at my shoulder,
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someone in my age bracket with my precise fitness level, and
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they suddenly find an extra burst of speed and pull ahead in
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the final stretch. That is the person who drives
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you crazy. Yeah, that is the person who
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crosses the disposition to be uppermost.
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We are comfortable when others are far below us, and we are
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fairly indifferent when they're impossibly far above us.
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But we are agonizingly sensitive to the movements of those who
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are near us. Yes, our rivals, our peers whose
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advancement threatens our desire to be singular and our specific
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localized eminence. That is a perfect modern
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parallel to the biblical evidence Edwards provides.
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He points to the Old Testament narrative of Moses and Joshua in
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the Book of Numbers Chapter 11. Yeah, that story illustrates
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this precise dynamic of proximity and rivalry.
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Two men, Eldad and me Dad, are suddenly given the spirit of
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prophecy and begin prophesying in the camp.
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And Joshua's immediate reaction is panic.
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Total panic. He runs to Moses and says, My
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Lord Moses forbid them. Joshua is experiencing intense
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envy and as Moses points out, Joshua is envying for Moses
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sake. Right.
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Joshua perceives that Moses's singular eminence as the sole
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prophet and leader is being threatened by these newcomers
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sharing in the same privilege. But Moses demonstrates the
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opposite spirit, the true spirit of charity.
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He says would God that all the Lord's people were prophets.
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Moses had no need to be singular and alone in his eminence.
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The text also uses the example of Joseph's brothers in Genesis
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37, which is a classic example. They hear Joseph's dream, which
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implies that his parents and brothers would bow down to him.
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And they are his brothers, his peers, dwelling in the same
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tents. The very suggestion that he
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would have power over them, that he would be elevated to a
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comparative superiority, triggers an intense destructive
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reaction. They could not tolerate the idea
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of a sibling becoming their superior.
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So if we have this agonizing internal fear of losing our
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rank, it can't possibly stay hidden in our heads for long,
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can it? No, it inevitably bleeds out
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into our behavior. How does this internal
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disposition actually manifest in the real world according to the
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source? The text outlines what we might
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call the two faces of envy. It argues that this disposition
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becomes visible in two distinct respects.
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OK, what are they? 1st in an uneasiness with
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another's prosperity, and 2nd in a direct dislike of their
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person. Let's look at that first
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manifestation, uneasiness. So instead of rejoicing in the
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prosperity of others, the envious man will be troubled by
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it. It becomes a literal grievance
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to his spirit to see others rise so high.
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Hearing about their advantages, honors or preferments is
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actively uncomfortable for him. The text uses the historical
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account of Haman and Mordecai from the Book of Esther to
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illustrate this severe uneasiness.
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Haman is such a fascinating character for this he's a man
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who has reached the absolute pinnacle of political power.
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Right. He has wealth, he has the King's
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favor. He has a large family.
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Yet his internal state is completely destabilized by the
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presence of 1 specific person who refuses to bow to him.
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The psychology of Haman is highly instructive for
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understanding this uneasiness. The text quotes Esther 513.
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What does he say there? Haman is recounting his vast
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wealth, the multitude of his children, and all the promotions
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the king had given him. He has every conceivable earthly
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reason to be satisfied. Yet he concludes his list of
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triumphs by saying, Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as
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I see Mordecai the Jews sitting in the King's game.
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Wow, so Haman's ability to enjoy his own abundant blessings is
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completely neutralized by the sight of Mordecai.
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This demonstrates how envy acts as that eating cancer.
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It devours your own capacity for gratitude and contentment.
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And from such a spirit, the envious person stands ready to
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rejoice at anything that happens to diminish the honor and
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comfort of others, right? Yeah, because the other person's
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elevation is the source of their uneasiness.
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So the logical, albeit corrupted, solution for the
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envious mind is to see that person brought down.
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They don't just passively hope for a downfall, do they?
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No, they actively study how to lower the other person's estate.
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Haman planned and schemed, even building a gallows to bring down
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Mordecai and cure his own internal torment.
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That act of scheming is a critical component.
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The uneasiness drives actual tactical maneuvers.
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The envious person will gladly embrace the very first
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opportunity to pull the successful person down.
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And one of the most common tactical maneuvers identified in
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the text is the use of speech. Yes, the sight of others
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prosperity often says the envious on talking against them
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and speaking evil of them. They might do this even when
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they don't really know the person well at all.
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Because the goal is highly calculated.
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By speaking evil of them, they hope to diminish their honors,
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and lower them in the esteem of men.
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It's a form of social leveling. If I cannot elevate my own
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status to match yours, I will use my words to chip away at
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your reputation until you are brought back down to my level.
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Or preferably below it. Gossip and slander in this
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framework are not just idle chatter.
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What are they then? They are the weaponized
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expressions of an envious heart attempting to cure its own
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uneasiness by destroying the prominence of a rival.
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That is such a piercing insight. And this naturally escalates to
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the second manifestation, right? Which moves from mere uneasiness
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to actual personal dislike and malice.
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Yeah, seeing how others prosper, the envious begin to hate the
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actual person on account of their honor.
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They entertain an evil spirit toward them for no other reason
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than the fact that they are prospered.
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They become embittered in spirit simply because someone else is
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eminent in name or fortune. The text revisits the story of
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Heyman for this, pointing out that Heyman was full of
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indignation against Mordecai simply because Mordecai sat in
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the gate and didn't stand up or move for him.
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The prosperity and the perceived lack of deference become a
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source of intense personal animosity.
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The successful person is resented as if their success is
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an actual injury to the envious person.
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This is a massive distortion of reality.
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The envious person genuinely feels wronged, attacked and
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injured by a neighbor's good fortune.
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Right, as if the neighbor had reached into their house and
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stolen something directly from their own pockets.
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That concept of viewing another success as a personal injury
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explains the terrifying escalation we see in the
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biblical narratives. It brings us back to Joseph's
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brothers. Yeah, because their father loved
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Joseph and because of the dreams implying his superiority, the
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brothers hated him and could not speak peaceably unto him.
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The envy metastasized. It started as rejection of his
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potential superiority turned into an inability to even have a
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normal civil conversation with him.
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And eventually led to acts of the greatest cruelty and
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wickedness when they stripped him, threw him in a pit, and
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sold him into slavery. The hatred becomes settled.
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The person is no longer viewed as a brother or a neighbor, but
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solely as an obstacle to the envious person's desire for
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eminence. This destructive cycle, where
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uneasiness ferments into hatred and hatred breeds cruelty, shows
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how ingrained this disposition is in the corrupted human
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nature. It is so ingrained, so prone to
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cause utter ruin, that a completely contrary spirit is
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required to cure it. The human heart can't fix this
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on its own through sheer willpower, can it?
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No, it requires A radical theological intervention.
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And that intervention is presented as the Christian
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counter offensive. The text outlines a three-step
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response to envy that flows from a genuinely Christian spirit.
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What are those three steps? Disallowing its expression,
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mortifying its principle, and rejoicing in the good of others.
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Let's look at the first step, disallowing the exercise and
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expressions of such a spirit. The text acknowledges a very
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realistic premise here. It assumes that a person
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influenced by Christian principles may still have envy
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as well as other corrupt feelings arise in their heart.
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So the presence of the temptation is not denied.
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The flesh still wages war, right?
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However, the Christian spirit abhors its spirit as unbecoming
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and contrary to the nature and will and spirit of God.
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The individual recognizes the absolute odiousness of the
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emotion, seeing its ugliness not just when others display it, but
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equally when it surfaces in themselves.
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Therefore, whenever the emotions of envy begin to rise, the
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individual is alarmed by it. They don't coddle.
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It they don't justify it and they don't vent it, they fight
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against. It they absolutely refuse to
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allow its exercise for a moment, and they intentionally prevent
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it from breaking forth into outward words of gossip or
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actions of malice. That makes total sense, and that
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moves us from outward containment to the second step,
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which is internal eradication, mortifying the principle and
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disposition in the heart. To use a modern equivalent,
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mortifying means actively starving a desire to death.
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Cutting off its oxygen supply. The text says a Christian spirit
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subdues the very root of the feeling by cultivating a
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specific alternative. Contentment with one's own
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condition and the estate God has given.
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This is grounded entirely in the theological concept of God's
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Providence. Right.
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The Christian spirit finds quietness and satisfaction
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regarding the allotments and distributions of stations and
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possessions. Which God, in his wise and kind
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Providence, has made to ourselves and others.
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This requires trusting that God is both sovereign and good in
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how He distributes blessings. The text uses an extreme
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contrast to illustrate the scope of this contentment, doesn't it?
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Yes, it says we should be satisfied whether our rank is as
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high as that of the angels or as low as that of the beggar at the
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rich man's gate, referencing the parable of Lazarus in Luke 16.
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I have to push back on that though, being completely content
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while covered in sores, starving and watching a rich man feast.
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It is a shocking image. That sounds entirely impossible
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for a human being to achieve. How does the text justify that
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kind of extreme standard? It justifies it by pointing to
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the Apostle Paul's declaration in Philippians 411 where he
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states he has learned in whatsoever state.
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He is their gift to be content. OK, so the justification is that
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contentment is not derived from the circumstances themselves,
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but from the source of the circumstances.
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Exactly. I mean spot on.
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If a person truly believes that a perfectly wise and perfectly
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kind God has ordained their specific lot for their spiritual
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good and His glory, then even the estate of Lazarus can be
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received with contentment. Because envy argues with God's
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distribution, contentment submits to it.
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The third step, then, is the ultimate victory over Envy.
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It's not just the absence of malice, nor just a neutral
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passive contentment, is it? No, it's a positive disposition
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to rejoice in the prosperity of others.
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The text points to the Apostolic rule in Romans 12/15 that we
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should rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that
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weep. This means sympathizing with
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their estate and condition in the exact same spirit we would
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feel if it were our own. This is the definition of true
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benevolence. This specific spirit of
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benevolence will actively cast out the evil spirit of envy.
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It replaces the desire to see a rival brought down with an
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ability to find genuine happiness in seeing a neighbor
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prosper. Rejoicing with others sounds
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beautiful in theory, but in practice it hits very close to
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the bone. It does.
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It goes against everything we naturally feel.
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How can a person genuinely rejoice when a neighbor receives
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the very blessing they have been fervently praying for
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themselves? That is the hardest test.
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Imagine a family in the church who has been praying for a child
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for years, going through heartbreak after heartbreak, and
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they have to sit across the aisle and watch their peers
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effortlessly announce pregnancy after pregnancy.
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Yeah, that is a heavy, heavy burden.
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How does a person transition from the natural, agonizing
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grief of their own lack to genuinely rejoicing for the
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other? The text points to the mechanics
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of sympathy. True sympathy requires a
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fundamental shift in identity, where your happiness is no
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longer bound solely to your own private accumulation of
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blessings. When true benevolence casts out
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the evil spirit, you begin to see that God's goodness to your
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neighbor is still God's goodness.
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Right, and therefore worthy of rejoicing, even if it is not
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currently directed at your specific situation.
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You adopt their joy as a shared joy, recognizing that in the
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body of Christ a blessing to 1 is a blessing to the whole.
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These three steps disallowing mortifying and rejoicing are not
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presented as simple self help advice for better living.
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No, they are anchored in massive theological realities.
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The text builds A comprehensive case against envy, beginning
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with the sheer weight of New Testament precepts.
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We are given a rapid fire barrage of scriptural warnings.
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Romans 1313 commands walking honestly, not in strife, and
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envying. 1st Corinthians 3, 3 blames the church for being
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carnal because of envying among them. 2nd Corinthians 12/20
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couples envy with wraths, stripes and backbiting.
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Galatians 521 ranks envy alongside murders and
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drunkenness as abominable works of the flesh.
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First Timothy 64 condemns it as implying great wickedness.
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Titus 33 lists it as a hateful sin of the unconverted state.
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James 3 classifieds it as earthly, sensual and devilish.
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And first, Peter 2 warns against it as something that prevents
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growth in divine things. The cumulative effect of these
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citations is staggering. The New Testament views envy not
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as a minor slip of the tongue or a private bad mood.
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It views it as a catastrophic failure of Christian love,
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categorized alongside the most severe moral breaches like
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murder. Beyond the direct commands, the
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text outlines how the Gospel Doctrine itself operates as an
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anti envy mechanism. The very nature of the gospel
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story stands in total opposition to a begrudging spirit.
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God the Father did not begrudge us His well beloved Son.
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He did not withhold the highest honor and blessedness from us,
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even though we were completely unworthy rebels.
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Similarly, Christ did not begrudge His labor.
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He did not withhold His precious blood on the cross, nor does He
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begrudge us a throne of glory to rule with Him in the heavens.
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The text contrast this immense divine generosity with the
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spirit of Satan. Yes, Satan, with miserable
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baseness, envied mankind's happiness in Eden.
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His motivation was not just rebellion against God.
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He could not bear to see humanity in their happy state.
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And therefore he exerted himself to the utmost for their ruin.
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Satan destroyed what he could not tolerate seeing flourish.
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Christ, conversely, came into the world to destroy those works
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the devil to deliver us from the misery Satan's envy caused, and
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to purify our human nature from every trace of that same
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destructive devilish spirit. The historical reality of
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Christ's life on Earth provides the ultimate behavioral model
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against envy. The text highlights specific
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choices Jesus made that defy the human disposition to be
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uppermost. He voluntarily chose low and
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afflictive circumstances. He did not envy those with
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worldly wealth or covet their condition.
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Think about the scene in John 615.
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The multitude, amazed by his miracles, wanted to take him by
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force and make him a king. The natural human heart would
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seize that comparative superiority instantly.
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But Jesus actively refused the high honor and withdrew to a
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mountain alone. He had no desire for worldly
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eminence. Furthermore, when John the
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Baptist was drawing massive crowds from all Judea, Jesus did
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not resent John's popularity. Instead, he submitted to John's
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baptism in the Jordan, even though Jesus was the master and
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John the servant. Perhaps most strikingly, Jesus
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promised his disciples in John 1412 that they would do greater
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works than he did. He was completely free from the
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desire to be singular and alone in His Eminence.
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He actively empowered his followers to surpass His earthly
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ministry in scope. Theological and historical
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weight points directly to the rude cause of envy.
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And the text identifies the root clearly, doesn't it?
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It is pride. Yes, it is the pride of men's
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hearts that fuels the burning desire to be distinguished and
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superior to all others. Pride makes them uneasy and
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dissatisfied when they see others above them.
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Because pride is the root. The only effect of cure is
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humility. The spirit of Christian love
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works. Humility in the heart, love to
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God. Empirize a sense of God's
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infinite excellence, which naturally leads to a sense of
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our own comparative nothingness. When you see God clearly, your
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desire to be uppermost among men evaporates.
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You realize how absurd it is to fight for rank before a holy
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God. Similarly, love to men disposes
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us to acknowledge the excellencies of others, to
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esteem them better than ourselves, and to concede that
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the honors bestowed upon them are their due.
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This theological framework sets up the final and perhaps most
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challenging section of the text, the practical application and
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self examination. This is where the text stops
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explaining and starts demanding answers.
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It pivots sharply to address the audience directly, forcing you
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to hold up a mirror to your own past and present behavior within
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society and the church. The text asks a series of
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piercing diagnostic questions. It challenges us to look back at
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our lives, noting that we have long been members of human
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society, interacting with others in public and private affairs.
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We have seen others prosper. We have seen people we
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considered our equals, or even our inferiors advance in wealth,
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ease or honor while we were left behind.
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The question is, how did those situations affect us?
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Was there uneasiness? Was there a desire to see them
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brought down? Were we glad to hear anything to
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their disadvantage? Did our forebodings about them
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actually reveal our secret wishes for their failure?
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The text asks if we have ever opposed someone in public
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affairs or joined a faction against them purely out of an
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envious spirit. It asks if our hearts have
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burned with this feeling. These are not comfortable
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questions to answer if we are being completely honest with
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ourselves. The examination is brought from
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the past right into the present moment.
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The text asks what spirit you find as you search your heart
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today. Do you carry an old grudge
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against the person sitting across from you in the House of
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God? Is the prosperity of a fellow
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member at the Lord's Table and eyesore to you?
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Does their success make your life uncomfortable?
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Would it bring inward joy and gladness to your heart to see
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them experience loss or depression?
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It's a brutal self-assessment because it strips away all our
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polite religious veneer. Human beings are experts at
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masking their envy. We do not usually admit, even to
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ourselves, that we are envious. We justify it.
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We give it other names. We create elaborate, highly
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spiritualized excuses for why our opposition to another
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person's success is actually a righteous stance.
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The text anticipates this and systematically breaks down the
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two most common justifications we use to hide our envy from
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ourselves, beginning with the excuse of unworthiness.
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That first common justification is the claim that the prosperous
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person is simply not worthy of their success.
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We tell ourselves that they do not have the fitness or the
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moral worthiness for the honors they possess, and that other
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lower people are more deserving. The text asks a brilliant
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rhetorical question. Where is the man in the world
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who envies another for his honor or prosperity, but is ready to
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think or say that that other is not worthy?
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The excuse is universal. It points back to the biblical
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examples to prove this Did Joseph's brothers think he was
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worthy of his father's peculiar love?
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No, they thought he was an arrogant dreamer.
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Did Haman think Mordecai was worthy of the King's honor?
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No, he thought he was a disrespectful subordinate.
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Did the Jews in the book of Acts think the Gentiles were worthy
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of the gospel privileges? No.
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Whenever someone is promoted, the envious are always ready to
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improve the occasion to tell of their faults.
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They rake up all possible evil about them to prove their
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unworthiness to the community. The text offers a flawless
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diagnostic test to determine if you're concerned about their
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unworthiness is genuine or if it is just masked envy.
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The question is this, which troubles you more, your
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neighbor's faults or their prosperity?
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That cuts right to the core issue.
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If you were truly grieved by their moral faults, you would be
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grieved whether they were prosperous or poor.
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Furthermore, if you were genuinely concerned for their
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character, you would speak to them privately in the true
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spirit of Christian compassion and friendship.
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You would go to them directly to seek their restoration.
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You would not use their faults as public ammunition to diminish
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their reputation. The fact that their faults only
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become a topic of conversation when they achieve success proves
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that the faults are not the real issue.
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The prosperity is the issue. The faults are a convenient
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excuse to attack the prosperity without appearing envious.
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We use their perceived unworthiness as a smokescreen
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for our own resentment. The second justification
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addressed is the claim that prosperity is actually bad for
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the person. We argue that success will make
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them proud, insufferable or scornful.
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We convince ourselves that it would be best for their own
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character development to be brought down and humbled.
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We frame our desire for their downfall as a kind of tough love
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concern for their spiritual well-being.
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The text applies another stringent test to this excuse.
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It states that if you truly dislike their prosperity because
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it harms them spiritually, then you should sincerely lament the
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injury it causes. You should feel a true
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compassion of heart for them. But do your lamentations spring
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from pity or from envy? If you genuinely pity them, you
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would grieve for their calamity. You would not secretly rejoice
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when they are brought. Down you must ask yourself, are
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you grieved for them because their prosperity injuries them,
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or are you grieved for yourself because their prosperity is not
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yours? That distinction is razor sharp.
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If we are honest, when someone we envy experiences a set back,
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our initial internal reaction is rarely sorrow for their pain.
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It is usually a grim satisfaction that the scales
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have been balanced. The text also touches on a
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particularly insidious form of this sin, spiritual envy.
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This occurs when we envy others not for material wealth, but for
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their spiritual prosperity, or they're standing before God.
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The examples given are chilling Cain envying Abel's accepted
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sacrifice. Ishmael mocking Isaac, the child
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of promise, the Jewish leaders envying Christ's authority, and
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the elder brother resenting the grace shown to the prodigal son.
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Think about modern call out culture within religious
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circles. How much of the public tearing
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down of prominent figures is driven by a genuine desire for
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theological purity, and how much is driven by spiritual envy?
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People tear down others moral or spiritual standing to elevate
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their own. It is perhaps the most dangerous
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form because it uses the language of religion to oppose
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the very work of God in another person's life.
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We must beware of cherishing that spirit and instead learn to
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rejoice in the good estate of others as if it were our own.
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Having dismantled the excuses, the text summarizes the stark
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dichotomy we are left with. It describes the spirit of envy
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as the very contrary of the spirit of heaven.
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In heaven, everyone rejoices in the happiness of others.
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There is no comparative anxiety. Envy, therefore, is the very of
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hell itself. It is a disposition that feeds
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itself on the ruin of the happiness of others.
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We are brought back to the image of the Caterpillar destroying
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the flourishing plants. And the strong language of
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Solomon in Proverbs 1430, as quoted.
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A sound heart is the life of the flesh, but envy is the
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rottenness of the bones. It is a foolish self injury,
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making the envious person thoroughly uncomfortable simply
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because someone else has a blessing.
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The alternative is divine charity, the spirit of Christian
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love, which always leads us to rejoice in the welfare of
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others. Quoting first John four, we are
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instructed that this love is of God, and he who dwells in love
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dwells in God. So we have these two entirely
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opposite ways of living. I want to leave you with a final
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thought to Mull over as we conclude this analysis.
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We have discussed how envy disguises itself, how it
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justifies its malice, and how it rots the bones.
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But the true test of your heart happens in a fraction of a
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second. Yes.
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When a peer, someone right next to you, experiences a sudden,
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immense stroke of good fortune, pay attention to your immediate,
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unfiltered internal reaction. That initial flinch is a
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flawless diagnostic tool. It is very revealing.
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It reveals precisely where your treasure lies.
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If their game instantly feels like your personal loss, you
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must ask yourself a serious question.
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What finite resource are you worshipping instead of the
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infinite God who distributes his gifts exactly as he sees fit?