Do you ever find yourself saying how jealous you are of someone else? You might be joking, but usually there is an element of truth. It’s easy to be jealous of many things: homes, cars, relationships, vacations, bank accounts, degrees. You name it, humans have found a way to be jealous about it.

After first saying that love is both patient and kind, the Apostle Paul goes on to say that there is something that love is not. It is not envious. It’s a pretty big deal for envy to come in third on the list, but God is really concerned with envy. It is one of the 10 commandments, after all: do not covet.Maybe this is because God knew how easy it is for us to fall into the sin of desiring things we cannot have. We humans try so hard to control our environments, to make sure we are safe and comfortable; to make sure everything around us is perfect. But that is impossible. We can’t control much; instead, we have to trust God and that He will give us what we need, right when we need it. Another word for that is contentment.

Being around someone who is content is like breathing fresh air. There is no competition, no jealousy, only joyful love. It is in those people that we can see the love of Christ. We should be content because of the love of Christ within us. No envy needed – contentment can change the world for Christ.This is Luis Palau.