Turn jealousy in to an opportunity!

As a 30-something-year-old, being jealous of another’s success was not my thing. I spent my formative years being the victim of jealousy. The jealousy of family members did not show its head because of my beauty or accomplishments but because of confusion. When we are confused about our mission in life, we make those around us pay by making them feel less than perfect. Now over 14 years later as a mother and wife, I find myself struggling to be happy for others.

This jealousy thing started to rear its head about 2 months ago. I was asked to help an individual who was selfish, inconsiderate and self-absorbed. To top it all off, this individual was experiencing the success in business I so yearned for in my own entrepreneurial ventures. My job was to promote an upcoming event while introducing them to new business prospects. I owed my close friend a favor, so I agreed. During the time of promoting the event I continued wishing the worst for this person. I wanted the worst turn-out, no business connections and no media connections for the individual, until coming face to face with God’s word at 3 a.m. in the morning.

(picture from yahoo images)

James 3:16 Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats.(The Message)

Since reading that verse, I knew God was warning me about the long lasting repercussions of jealousy. With James 3:16 on my mind, I spent extra time promoting the event, and the end result was nothing less than a miracle and thousands of dollars for my competitor. At the end of the event, he came to me in awe and said, “I was not expecting this…thanks.” Those words changed my life forever. I know that he is still inconsiderate and selfish but God will deal with him. In the meantime, I find joy in knowing I was God’s servant, which is a priceless feeling.

How can you turn jealousy in to an opportunity today?