By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:22-26
“And now, children, take heed of the spirit of deceit and of envy. For envy rules over the whole mind of a man, and suffers him neither to eat, nor to drink, nor to do any good thing: it ever suggests to him to destroy him that he envies; and he that is envied ever flourishes, but he that envies fades away. Two years of days I afflicted my soul with fasting in the fear of the Lord, and I learned that deliverance from envy comes by the fear of God.”
Testament of Simeon, Concerning Envy 2.3.1-4 (second century BC).
Envy is a leading hindrance to doing good. While the Apostle Paul notes that a fruit of the Spirit is generosity, he exhorts the Galatians (and us) not to envy each other. It’s a fruit of the flesh. How do we root this out?
The Testament of Simeon suggests fasting in the fear of the Lord. Take inventory today. If you have a root of envy, a longing after something someone else has, skip a meal and feast on the one thing that is better than anything else: God.
Read a Psalm, such as Psalm 37, in which David wrestled with envious thoughts. Run to God. He is the only one who can satisfy your deepest longings, and remove this hindrance to doing good.