June 13: Envy Rots the Bones

You scrolled through your phone and saw everyone’s summer vacations, new houses and happy families. And something inside you turned sour.

Proverbs puts it vividly. A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

Rot happens slowly, from the inside. You don’t notice it at first. Then one day the whole thing is weak.

Envy works like that. It starts small. A flicker of resentment when a friend gets good news. A sour feeling looking at someone else’s life online. A sense that you’re behind, that life has been unfair, that other people got what you deserved.

In recovery, envy can be especially sharp. You look at people who never had a drinking problem and think about everything they didn’t lose. You look at people with more sober time and feel behind. You look at what others have and count what drinking cost you.

That’s understandable. But envy doesn’t help. It rots. It feeds self-pity and resentment. And it pulls your eyes off the good things God is doing in your own life.

Step Six asks you to become ready to let God remove envy. Part of that is honesty. Put it on your list. Admit it’s there.

Part of it is practical. If social media fuels envy for you, take a break from it. Unfollow accounts that leave you feeling worse. Summer can be especially hard online, with everyone posting their best moments.

And part of it is gratitude. The opposite of envy is a heart at peace, content with what God has given. Gratitude is how you get there. Not by pretending you don’t want things. By noticing what you already have.

It may also help to pray for the people you envy. Ask God to bless them. It’s hard to stay sour toward someone you’re praying good things for.

One thing today

Take one day off social media. In place of scrolling, write down five things in your own life you’re grateful for, especially things that come with sobriety.

A prayer

Lord, envy has been eating at me. I keep comparing my life to everyone else’s. Give me a heart at peace. Help me see what You’ve given me. Make me ready to let this go. Amen.

Read about Step Six.

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