06/10/2026
We had just spent the past four hours in a picturesque small town playing in the shade of mature trees in the park, walking on sidewalks in front of perfectly manicured lawns, and eating way too much ice cream from a quaint, family-owned shop. We were approaching our exit as we made our way out of town when I started. “I have something to tell you and I feel gross saying it, but you need to know.”
It was then that I explained to my wife that a part of me felt unhappy while we were in her hometown. It wasn’t because we had spent the better part of three days doing manual labor. It wasn’t the cold, rainy weather that kept us inside. It wasn’t even the late nights and early mornings that I tend to struggle with. I was unhappy because everything seemed to be better while I was there: the view, the pace of life, the proximity to family. Even the people I was interacting with seemed to be doing better than I was. Envy was settling in my heart, making me feel discontent.
Discontent rooted in envy is dangerous. It causes the world to go grey, material goods to hold more value than the souls around you, and a victim mindset to set in. Every time envy starts to stir in my heart and mind, I immediately forget all the good things God has blessed me with, and I think about what I need to do to obtain what another person has. C.S. Lewis said, “Envy is insatiable. The more you concede to it, the more it will demand.” Scripture warns, “Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?” (Proverbs 27:4). If not acknowledged, envy will consume your attention, your time, and your heart.
As dangerous as envy is, it can reveal something important. Like nausea is a symptom of a greater illness, discontentment reveals an idol making its way into our heart. The problem isn’t that we are just unhappy, but that we are starting to treasure something more than Christ. Envy is often a symptom, and it can often point to the fact that we have placed our security, worth, or happiness in something other than what Jesus provides.
I think this is why I felt gross confessing it. I knew I was only feeling envious because I was seeing the benefits of these other locations, lifestyles, and circumstances while diminishing their challenges. I knew those things couldn’t satisfy the longings of my heart. I think if I didn’t recognize the condition of my heart, I could have spent the rest of the time looking at ways to try to fill what I felt was lacking. However, I believe that God used my discontentment in that moment to show me how quickly my affections wander and used that to call me back to him.
Envy should never be celebrated. It should never be ignored either. Envy can create an opportunity to examine our hearts and repent of the idols that we have trusted in. It’s an opportunity to loosen our grip on the things of this world and cling to our savior. Like the tickle in the back of your throat when a cough is coming on, unhappiness can be an indication that something is wrong. If we recognize it, God can expose what lies behind the unhappiness and draw us back to the only One who can fully satisfy us.
- Josh Clark
