rotten bones

I heard a seminar recently about how to make sure your energy goes toward the most productive things. Part of the presentation described the least productive energy sinks, which the presenter called mental cancers. One of those is comparing. Comparing my life and accomplishments and possessions to other people’s, this person says, is like an eroding mental disease that will sap my productivity.

As with most wisdom, this premise was stated much more concisely and clearly in the Bible centuries ago. Here it is, in Proverbs 14:30: “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”

It’s an interesting mental picture, isn’t it? Our bones are the structure that gives us form and strength. When they rot, we become less attractive and less capable at the same time. In fact, rotting bones is something we associate more with crypts. Yet scripture says that’s what envy will do.

I think my own experience validates this proverb. I have a great life, full of blessing. My kids and grandkids are nearby, as are both sets of parents. I have a challenging job that pays more than I thought I’d ever earn. By most standards, I’ve accomplished a lot so far. And I have a wife who loves me, a God who loves me more, and ample proof of both those loves every day. There’s every reason my heart should be at peace.

Still . . . .

There are a handful of people at my 800-person company who outrank me. My new house isn’t as big as the ones being built across the street. I don’t seem to have the same available cash for vehicles and boats and campers as a lot of my peers.

With just a little bit of looking around, I can destroy the delight I should feel in every blessing I have. When I do that, my dissatisfaction drags at me; I don’t attack life and work with the same energy. That’s envy rotting my bones. It is a cancer.

Contentment and a peaceful, non-comparing heart would have a greater, faster impact on my health and energy than almost anything I could do.