The Real Score: Not Envious

At last week's Feast, people went home so much blessed and inspired! The Feast, being moved on it's new schedule every Saturday, started with an anticipated mass. The Gospel taken from Matthew 18:21-35. According to Rev. Fr. Charles Luis Jaime, the mass celebrant, when Jesus said that we must forgive seventy-seven times He means ALWAYS.

After the mass was the talk proper of "The Real Score" series. Bro. Buddy, quoting again 1 Corinthians 13, put emphasis on the verse, "Love does not envy". He narrated the story of Cain and Abel from Genesis 4:6-8. Both brothers offered a sacrifice to God but Abel's sacrifice was accepted. Because of this Cain, envied his brother Abel, and this envy moved him to kill his brother.

However sad, the reality is that the spirit of Cain continues today. Because of envy, we harm others with our hurting and offending words. Envy is as common as the cold, but deadly as cancer. Actually, it's like a mental cancer that destroys your life, your relationships, and your happiness. Envy is one of the most destructive thing on planet Earth.

Bro. Buddy gives the 2 Phases of Envy:

PHASE ONE. Why don't I have what you have? Envy once nurtured, always comes with a shame, and shame always kills the spirit.

PHASE TWO. If I don't have any, you shouldn't have any too. This is when envy becomes cruel and destructive not only to yourself but to others.

Bro. Buddy stated that many times we don't know that we are envious because we are usually blind with our own envy so he has 3 questions to know if you have Phase 2 envy.

1. Is there anyone that I don't like?
2. What does this person have that I don't have?
3. Will I be secretly delighted if he fails?

Like all problems, going to the source is the key to solution. Envy is just a symptom. Its root is emptiness. Envy is always about a deep dissatisfaction with yourself. A person who is happy with himself and profoundly satisfied with himself cannot envy others. The feeling of emptiness and insecurity comes from fear of worthlessness. The antidote to envy is gratitude for God's love.

Bro. Buddy shared 2 Powerful Steps to Get Rid of Envy.

1. Celebrate Your Abundance - Focus on your blessings and thank God for all of it.
2. Celebrate Their Abundance - Be genuinely happy for other people's successes. Share in their joy, share in their victory, not just be happy when it happens but pray that it happens.

Bro. Buddy shared a secret which we must all know. It says, "If you envy he blessings that other people receive, you're driving away those blessings from your life. But if you're genuinely grateful for the blessings other people receive, you'll attract those exact same blessings into your life more easily."

Bro. Buddy ended his talk by illustrating the abundance mindset. When your friends are blessed it doesn't lessen your chance of being blessed. In God;s Kingdom, there is no scarcity of blessings. The universe is a giant bucket of blessings that will never run out.