I hate gardening with a passion, though I do love to look at other people’s gardens. The reason I dislike gardening so much is fundamentally because I am lazy and it is hard work. Weeding is one job I particularly dislike, since weeds seem to grow so much more quickly and prolifically than the flowers I want to flourish, so this is a job which never seems to be done.
Sin in our lives is rather like weeds; it seems to flourish and grow more quickly than virtues, which require a lot of cultivation! It’s much easier to lose our tempers than it is to be patient. It’s much easier to hold on to grudges than it is to forgive. We live in a world where the weeds grow alongside the good seed (Matt 13:24-30), and we have to be diligent in rooting out attitudes and thoughts and actions which don’t conform to God’s Word.
Envy is another of those sins which poisons and corrodes us from within. Like greed and lust, it is characterised by an insatiable desire. It can be described as a sad or resentful covetousness towards the traits or possessions of someone else. It’s linked to covetousness, one of the things God warns about in the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:17, Deut 5:21), and leads to resentment, bitterness and meanness, all of which are far from the generosity and open-handedness which are characteristics of God (see 2 Cor 9:6-11).
Envious people are focussed on themselves and look at others without love. We need to refuse to compare ourselves to other people and rest secure in our identity as God’s children. Generosity and kindness are the characteristics we should be growing; envy and covetousness the weeds we need to dig out with diligence and determination.