“O beware, my lord, of jealousy;
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.”
- Othello, Act 3, Scene 3 by William Shakespeare
Jealousy and Envy are evil twin sisters constantly tempting our hearts to seek what rightly belongs to others, tangible and intangible. These sisters lure us away from our own beauty and worth. They tempt and torment in the same instant. Jealousy distracts and Envy angers. Jealousy whispers suspicion into our heart and mind. Envy screams with indignation. Jealousy merely suggests that a spouse may be having an affair. Envy screams that if he or she doesn't belong to me they will belong to no one!
What is it in the human condition that makes us so susceptible to the wiles of these sisters? Why do we listen and often act upon their words? Why do we listen and often times fall in love with their whisperings; holding them dear for years on end?
My simple answer is two-fold. First, we see this world, this life, as all that there is and so with that paradigm we cling to or desire to cling to all this world offers. We want to keep our stuff, relationships, power (so-perceived), and all that we come in contact with for ourselves. Like drowning men we try to grasp and hold onto anything and everything within our reach forgetting that all these things and even we, must come to an end. Second, we do not spend enough time working on becoming better than we were yesterday. We seek the easy path. It is easier to be jealous of another's success than to create our own. It is easier to live in a mind full of destructive envy towards others than to do the work of seeing the abundance of our blessings. These sisters, Jealousy and Envy, distract us from the reality of own mortality and the blessings of simply being alive. Giving ear to the sisters makes us deaf and out of tune in our own heart.
Deaf and out of tune is an excellent way of describing those of us who have listened to the sisters for so long. We are deaf to the needs of others and focus only on our twisted, selfish needs. We are out of tune with the world and so the notes we play are sour in the symphony of life; to the detriment of ourselves and others.
My son, William, is an excellent guitar player. Yet, even the most accomplished musician cannot play well if his instrument is out of tune. If the strings on his guitar were able to listen to the sisters what would happen? If the E string were jealous of the A string and strove to make itself more like the A string it certainly could but it would destroy the sound of the whole. If the A string were envious of the other strings and somehow removed them all but herself, what would be the result? Only when each string is in tune can the musician play well.
Tuning here is a good analogy for our life. We must allow the Master Musician to keep us in tune. This necessarily involves tension and trial. A guitar string only becomes its best when placed under tension and allows itself to be the best string it can be forsaking the jealousy and envy to be another string. After some time, that tension is lost and again the string must be brought back into tune. It is an intricate dance between the Musician and the strings that when done well produces the best sounds.
St. Peter uses another analogy, "..and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house.." ( 1 Peter 2:5). I touched and/or placed nearly every block for the foundation of our home. That was hard enough. I cannot imagine working with "living stones"; stones that were jealous of another's shape or size, stones that were envious of another's placement to the point of tearing out a previously placed stone in an attempt to take that position! When we ignore those evil sisters and allow ourselves to be placed and fitted by the Master Builder, not jealous or envious of others, only then can we "let yourselves be built into a spiritual house."
The sisters were present from the beginning. They whispered in the ears of Adam and Eve convincing them that God was holding back from them, “You certainly will not die! God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil.” (Gen 3:4) Our original parents were jealous and envious of their very Creator; and so are we often enough.
What then is the antidote to the poisonous venom of these evil sisters? Generosity and Gratitude. Generosity crushes the head of Jealousy by helping us keep in mind that this is not our home and we cannot take anything with us. Gratitude crushes the head of Envy by helping us remember our blessings and reminding us to be thankful for the blessings that others receive. Practicing Generosity and Gratitude each moment of our day can drive away those evil sisters and allow us to live in peace and in tune with God, ourselves, and others.
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