The hard truth is that envy doesn't disappear just because you become aware of it. Knowing that it's a sin to covet what someone else has doesn't automatically make the feeling go away. I can intellectually understand that everything we have is a gift, that comparing my life to someone else's is meaningless because we're on different paths, and yet... I still feel it sometimes.

I see someone else's accomplishments or possessions or circumstances, and there's this moment where I think: why not me? Why does she get that and I don't? And then I feel guilty for thinking it, which creates this whole other layer of discomfort. 😔

But I think the guilt is actually important. I think the discomfort is part of growth. When I sit with that uncomfortable feeling instead of just pushing it away, I start to understand something deeper about what I actually value and what I actually want versus what I think I'm supposed to want because I see it in someone else's life.

My faith teaches me to be grateful for what I have, and I try. But gratitude isn't always automatic either. Sometimes gratitude is something you have to practice, deliberately choosing to see your own blessings instead of focusing on what's missing.

What do you do when you feel envious of someone and you know you shouldn't, and the knowledge that you shouldn't feel that way only makes you feel worse? 🤔