Jealousy

(Photo courtesy of of Free Images, Alex Bobzien)

"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." Proverbs 14:30

She was beautiful. Low. Rare. German. And she stole a piece of my heart as she left the parking lot where I worked. I had never seen her before.

I was on my way to dinner with my wife and two boys because it was Wednesday night and our favorite restaurant had ten-dollar pizzas.  We were driving our old station wagon which has nearly 300 thousand miles.  I often complain about the taxes and registration and maintenance costs on this old car, and so the distance between me and the German beauty increased as she proceeded down the street.

And I turned green.

At dinner, I confessed. I told my wife about the encounter that I had, and she smiled.  "Look at me.  Look at these boys. Look at this pizza. What else could you possibly want?"

She was right.  I sometimes see a cool car or a big house or a fancy watch and think, "Man! That must be nice."  Instead of being happy for the blessings I have been given, and there are many...many that maybe the guy driving away in that German beauty would gladly give his incredible car for...but I sometimes miss them in my desire for more stuff.

My family and I had a great dinner. After dinner, we took the boys to a fountain of their youth downtown we used to go to when they were smaller, "The jumping waters" they called it.  They played in the water as my wife and I visited and listened to a street musician playing first the fiddle and then the banjo.  It was a beautiful night and and we walked back to our old car full of ten-dollar pizza and many reminders of God's graciousness.  As we drove home in our station wagon (with brand-new seats and brand-new coil packs, I might add!) I thought some more about that cool car I had seen earlier.

I know.  I am deeply flawed.

I did some research.  The German has two motors...and electric motor powering the front wheels and a gasoline engine powering the back wheels working together in technological synchronicity.  The technology involved moves more than the driver of the car...in some ways, we all benefit.  Human beings can make beautiful things.  

But, sometimes we don't and sometimes it is easy to be jealous. God is still working on me...and I still really like that car, but I don't want, "rotten bones!" I don't want to miss all the blessings that God has poured out on me.

Church Stopping. Less doing. More being.