My Take on…Jealousy

Hey peeps, so here’s something I’ve been um…well…stirred to post about. This is gonna be the first post of the “My take on…” series. Lemme tell you something about the series first…

What will I post in this series?  Whatever comes to my mind relating to a certain topic. How do you recognize them? It’ll have the heading: My take on…*topic*.  What will I post about the topic in question? Whatever I know, so even if I have absolutely no idea about the topic, I’ll say something. Do I like answering my own questions? Yes, yes I do.

Well, the topic I’ve decided to post on is Jealousy. It just popped up in my head, and I decided to type on it, so well, here goes…

Jealousy is a really tough thing, both for the jealous person and the person whom he/she is jealous of. Who’s the victim? Not one of them, but both. The jealous person however, is in a worse condition. Why do I say that? It’s because the pain a jealous person faces is…self-inflicted.

Imagine dropping a bowling ball…on your foot. You feel more pain because a) It’s a bowling ball, b) Your foot was already supporting your heavy body, c) Your foot might have been crushed and a few bones might have been broken, d) You’re looking like an idiot yelping and howling while jumping on one foot in a bowling alley and e) You’re really angry at yourself for being such a klutz and dropping a bowling ball (of all things) on your foot (of all places)!

Well, a jealous person is just that. Feeling pain because he chose to compare himself and feel that he/she should have been in a better condition than the person he/she is jealous of. There’s hurt, bitterness, anger, hatred, pride, malice and (sometimes) insanity, all tied up in a neat little package and residing in a person’s heart. No wonder it’s branded a sin. And jealous people are similar to insane people (or maybe they actually BECOME insane…I’m no psychiatrist, I can’t say). They choose to hurt people who have done nothing to them. Your friend being a little better off than you, is that wrong? That doesn’t mean God has only blessed him, and not you. God has given different blessings, in equal measure…It’s like you carrying 1 kg sand in a bag, and your friend carrying 1 kg cotton in his bag. Who has a lighter load? Neither, cause both of you are carrying the same 1 kg weight!

Basically, I’d blame the education system. “Why did you score 2^nd rank and let him take 1^st?” I’ve heard that sentence shouted at way too many people. And I’ve seen those 2^nd rankers take it extreme and blame the 1^st rankers for that scolding, and do vile things like steal the 1^st ranker’s textbooks, spoil their name in front of teachers and what not. And the 2^nd rankers become 1^st rankers, and the 1^st rankers now get scolded. I know, vicious cycle. You know how we can break that cycle? SAY NO TO COMPETITION.

I don’t believe in competition. Even God wouldn’t dare to compare us! He loves us all equally, from the worst sinner to the most devoted church pastor! And why do we brand people and make them feel second rate when God says that those people are actually the apple of his eye? (On a side note, God actually says “You are the apple of my eye”. He means it too. Turn to Him because He doesn’t care who you are but loves you anyway.) I wouldn’t dare to do that, to do something God would not. And I feel that jealous people should learn this: You are blessed. Why aspire for something someone else has? God wouldn’t give it to you because He already has something else in mind. And then, you get angry and assume life is unfair, and HATE THAT PERSON. And when you hate someone, you’d like it if he/she was destroyed. And then you proceed to destroy that person through gossip, malice, unkind words, and pure hatred, and all this time, you are destroying your own soul as well. Sad, isn’t it?

Humans were made in the image of God. Just as God only loves people, humans were made only to love other people. Hate is something which is unnatural to humans. When I teach someone how to play guitar, I tell them to keep their fingers curved, and not straight. Why? Because that way, their fingers are in the same position that a newborn baby keeps, and that type of “natural” position is extremely comfortable. And then, the process of playing guitar actually becomes a bit easier as it comes more naturally to the student. So, don’t harbour hatred or grudges, it isn’t natural to us humans as a whole.

So, this is “My Take On…Jealousy”. A bit serious, because jealousy is a serious problem that must be stopped, if we are to develop as humans. And we develop better when we are in a “natural” position, don’t you agree? ;)