Jealousy: the Green-eyed Monster‏

Dearest Ones,

It was Shakespeare who said, "Jealousy is a green-eyed monster." The word green is used because when someone is sick, their skin may take on a greenish color and jealousy is a form of sickness. Have you ever felt the fire of jealousy in your heart? If you hear someone publicly praised, does it cause you pain? Do you secretly hate someone who is popular, prettier than you are or smarter?You are not alone, if you have these feelings. Feelings don't make you a bad person. But if you act on these feelings by saying bad things about this person you are jealous of - only then it becomes a sin. Everyone is tempted to jealousy - temptations are not sins. The time to attack jealousy is when you first feel it. If you grew up in a family of several siblings, you may remember Christmas and if your parents didn't give all the children the exact same amount of presents, it may have caused jealousy. This is natural but if parents handle it right it doesn't have to. Parents might need to explain that love doesn't mean expensive presents. Love can't be bought at a mall - it's deeper than that. It can't even be bought at all because it comes from the heart - not a checkbook. Many of the problems in the world stem from jealousy. If thousands of people in the world would attack the green-eyed monster, there would be peace in the world. Throughout the Bible there are examples of jealousy destroying families. Cain killed his only brother, Abel, out of jealousy. He saw that his brother's prayer was better than his own. King Saul tried to kill David, his best general, because he thought the people in his kingdom loved David more than himself. Examine whether there is jealousy in your heart when you see others are more loved than you are. I challenge you to show me a jealous person who is a happy person. Jealousy hurts the attacker more than the attacked. It causes them to be the kind of person who hates themselves and everybody else. Jealousy can creep into every part of our life: someone has more friends, better looks, better clothes, a better job, better children, a better house, even a better prayer life and we don't like that. Some spend their entire lives being jealous of a sibling. What a wasted life they lead when they could just follow Jesus and all the jealousy would go away and they could be so happy. Be smart and realize that wanting what others have is against God's laws. Go to confession, get rid of the sickness. God will help you. Jealousy is not for the child of God. How does one cure it? Start giving. Look around you and find someone who needs you. Practice the presence of Jesus in your life. Where God's love is, there is no room for jealousy. Only then will your life become a life of peace.Jealousy is rooted in a false view of God, of ourselves and of others. It says, "I want what God has chosen to give to others," or "I deserve better," or "God loves them better than me." What do you do with feelings of jealousy? It helps to talk with the person you are jealous of - you may find out they are envious of your gifts. You might even try complimenting the person you feel jealous of - this takes real courage and character, but it is a compliment to God - it's like saying, I like the way God made you. When I am jealous, I am complaining to God that I know what I need in my life better than He does. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 that jealousy is a sign of immaturity. Immaturity is childish, self-centered, impatient and unrealistic. We have to have the faith to believe that God does love us. We must choose to believe this because otherwise we believe the lies of Satan. God loves us all the same. We need quiet acceptance of who we are as God made us. The price we pay for jealousy is loneliness. People avoid a jealous person. Do you need God to overhaul your heart? Be honest with yourself and ask God to give you a heart of genuine love instead of a jealous heart.

With God all things are possible! I love you with all my heart!
Sister Francelle