love does not envy.

I've found that I usually don't have a lot of envy towards others' possessions. I've never spent a long amount of time dwelling on what my friends have, other than "oh hey, that car's cool. Id like to have a nice car one day." Envying after "stuff" was never an issue because I definitely have appreciated the concept of working for what you want, and using what you earn to buy things you need. It's simple. The thing that is more difficult for me is the trap of envying someone's circumstances and lifestyle in an unhealthy manner. When my parents divorced, I felt terrible being with my friends whose parents were still together. I craved a life of "normalcy" like they had. I felt inferior because I only had one parent at home. I envied my friends in relationships, not because I wanted any specific person but because I began to associate their relationships with happiness. I appreciated the things I had less and less because I had already decided that I was less important or cared for than my friends. Even others' happiness became something I envied. I wanted to feel what I thought they felt. I didn't want to be broken anymore. The problem with envy is that it is based on the premise that we are less "whole" because we look differently than those we know and look up to. Jesus came for the world while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8) and didn't require us to qualify or be "good enough" first. We have to develop in ourselves a strong self-image based on the truths God has told us about ourselves: that we are broken, but we are beautifully created in His name. There is no need to envy because God has given us all we could ever need in Him.