The Pride-Envy Trap

Author Gore Vidal once confessed, “Whenever a friend succeeds, a little something in me dies.”

Admit it…you know that feeling. Maybe a coworker gets the promotion you were hoping for. Or a colleague receives all the credit for a project you worked on together. Where it’s a slight on the work site or a career-altering incident, it gnaws at you. But why? What makes us fume when others get ahead?

Consider Aaron and Miriam. They could only stand by and watch as God lavished favor on Moses, their humble brother. All those private encounters with the Almighty on Mount Sinai. The power to perform jaw-dropping miracles. Escalating influence. Growing acclaim. Moses enjoyed all these advantages and more. Why him? Why not them?

So, in a desperate attempt to build themselves up, the siblings tried to take their brother down a few notches. They ragged on him and bragged on themselves. They recited their own spiritual resumes to all who would listen. Quickly God stepped in. Sternly he reminded them that he alone decides what blessings people will enjoy and where they’ll serve.

If we’re not wise, we’ll learn from Aaron and Miriam. Pride is like a spiritual cancer. Unaddressed, it spans envy. Unchecked, it consumes our hearts and minds. Don’t be deceived. If you think too highly of yourself you run the dangerous risk of thinking too little of God and others. Jealous people accuse God and attack his chosen servants.

Instead of obsessing about others—his calling, her gifts, their advantages—focus on your own God-given resources and roles. What gifts, talents and opportunities has God given you? Take inventory. Stop comparing yourself with others. Quit competing. Fight the urge to question God’s wisdom. Then start serving with all the strength God gives you. Let him promote you, if and when he chooses, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James4:10)

“Pride gets no pleasure out of having something; only out of having more of it than the next man…It is the comparison that makes you proud; the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone.” C.S. Lewis

This is a blog that Pastor Craig Groeschel of Life Church in Oklahoma wrote that goes along with this…

I’ll never be as a great a leader as Bill Hybels.
I’ll never be as deep as John Piper.
I’ll never be as smart as Mark Driscoll.
I’ll never be as creative as Ed Young.
I’ll never be as passionate as Steven Furtick.
I’ll never be as funny as Perry Noble.
I’ll never write like Erwin McManus.
I’ll never preach on one point as amazingly as Andy Stanley.
I’ll never have as big of arms as Bishop Eddie Long.
I’ll never be as Purpose Driven as Rick Warren.
I’ll never be as positive as Joel Osteen.

Thankfully, I’m not called by God to be any of those people!

And neither are you!

Although I can’t be them, God has created me with the ability to:

* Cast a compelling vision and move people radically toward Christ.
* Recognize talent and gifts in people most overlook.
* Reach people for Christ who are far from God.

What are the top three gifts/talents/abilities God has given you?