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    Michelle replied to the topic Envy and Perspective in the forum General Writing Discussions 7 years, 7 months ago

    @daeus-lamb – 

    So when someone who does not honor God has huge success or their writing genius dwarfs everyone else’s, I would be jealous, but not for myself, but for the servants of God. In this framework, any victory within the “we” is also to be considered a personal victory whether I benefit directly or not. Thoughts?

    I read two different thoughts:

    1) If the success is gained by someone whose writing does NOT honor God, you would not be jealous of their level of success PERSONALLY, but on behalf of all Christian writers, and you would want a fellow Christ honoring author to attain he same level success even if it is not you. As others have pointed out, I agree that this could easily turn to envy or a negative form of jealousy very easily. Wanting something that isn’t earned or deserved is problematic no matter if it is for personal gain or for a group.

    However, I sincerely don’t think that is what you meant at all. =) You have a DESIRE to see Christ honoring authors and writers attain the same (or greater) level of success than non-Christ honoring authors. Having a desire for equal success spurs us to grow, to encourage our brothers and sisters, and to find ways to attain success no matter who it is that succeeds. Jealousy and envy both sit back, cross their arms, and grumble, “I/We should have that, not them!” and I don’t think that is what you would do.

    The second is:

    2) If such success IS attained by a Christ honoring author other than yourself, you would want to make sure you rejoice not only FOR them but WITH them because it is ultimately the Kingdom of God that benefits, and when the Kingdom of God benefits, we all benefit.

    As I read the OP, I wonder if what you want to feel isn’t jealousy or envy at all, but rather a “holy dissatisfaction.” Meaning – That feeling of being unsatisfied with the way things are, but not in a woe-is-me kind of way. Rather, it is an emotion that makes you want to grow in your own skills as a writer, to desire that other Christ honoring writers learn and grow, and so that all of us can celebrate when any Christ honoring writer attains a measure of success.

    That way, the Kingdom grows, God gets all the glory, and we honor Him personally by using His gift of creativity to proclaim His message in the unique way He’s equipped us as individuals without feeling like we are in competition with each other.

    Oh, and HI! I’m kinda new around here. =) Thanks for having me. **waves shyly and sits back down**

     

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