Here is a post I read on diary of a naija girl’s page on Instagram…
“One of my friends told me she can’t talk to me right now because my success is triggering her insecurities and jealousy. I respect the hell out of her for being open and vulnerable. Communication is key, which is why we must all come from a place of non-judgement”
I did a repost on my page and I was glad I got few responses which I have compiled and with the help of the Holy Spirit, fleshed out truths that I believe will transform our minds in Jesus name…
One of the people who commented believes that jealousy is demonic. She wondered why one would claim to be your friend and still be jealous of your success! Another said she had been struggling with this feeling for a while now; however thanks to the comments shared she knows what to do. I realized that there probably are three categories of people;
-those who believe that it’s impossible to be jealous especially of their friend’s success
-those who actually feel jealous and really wish the feeling would just go away because they respect and love the person they are jealous of
-those who feel jealous and use the energy they feel to be destructive
I have actually learnt that sometimes we just can’t control how we feel but we can control our reactions. I believe this can be applicable to jealousy.
The second category of people I mentioned in the aforementioned paragraph, hate that they feel jealous. Truth is that I have been there and I couldn’t believe that I could actually feel such way towards my friend. I knew that was negative energy and God wouldn’t approve of it, so I decided to eliminate that feeling and deliberately accept all the success and achievements she has with much love and admiration.
The first set of people, well… I believe are partially correct. One indeed might never have this feeling. However there are moments when we think we are capable of doing things right until a situation arises! I mean not until when I realized that I was jealous of my friend, I didn’t know I could ever be a jealous person. Gosh! This reminds me of a portion of the Bible that says “let him that thinks that he stands, take heed or else he is going to fall”. If probably you are in this category I would advise that you live a life of thanksgiving and pray for those struggling in this area.
The third category of people allowed their feeling dictate their reaction. They fail to realize that feeling is deceitful and fleeting. It’s like smoke. It doesn’t last forever! Hurting someone because you feel that the person is more successful than you shows how little minded and myopic you are. Being destructive because of jealousy doesn’t even guarantee that you will see the light of the next day or accomplish quarter of what the other person achieved. That’s because whether you like it or not we have all be called to run on separate lanes. So why go the extent of being destructive? You could stop now if you really want a change of attitude.
I think I should stop here while we ponder on all that have been written. I will share in my next post by God’s grace, actions that actually eliminate the feeling of jealousy.
However please don’t forget this, if anything will make you love your friend irrespective of their success or achievements, know that we all have been created to run on different lanes. Don’t beat yourself up because you think you are not growing. Rather be thankful to God for your friend and for what He has kept inside of you that will manifest in due time.
Ristch 