(3.40) LCK Envious


The 77% Weekly
The 40/52-weeks-a-year, quick-reading, thought-lingering, spiritual-religious newsletter.

Religion-Outside-The-Box (oldrotb.wpengine.com) is a donation supported not-for-profit empowering adults to find and be with (the) God (of their understanding).  

35/40


From the desk of Dr. Laurence C. Keene

 

When I Am Envious
Logo for 77% Weekly


Dear God, I am aware of the fact that I am never envious of someone who makes less money than I do; has children who are less beautiful or talented than mine are; or who has a worse golf score than I have.


My envy is always directed toward someone who has something I want, but lack.
It seems to me that my envy is really nothing more than covetousness. A form of greed. I want it all. I want what I already have and more. It isn’t just that I lack something, it is that what I lack someone else already possesses and I want it.
It is not clear to me whether I want it because they have it or whether it is because I simply want it. I am not sure I want it so that they will have less or whether I want it so I will have more.
O Lord, my prayer to you is that you will restore in me a feeling of contentment. These envious feelings are robbing me of my contentment. Help me to rid myself of my desires for what others have so I can more fully enjoy the abundance of what I already have. I know for certain the price I am paying for wanting more is not worth the pain I am feeling for wishing for it. Lead me to a satisfaction that would never wish for someone else to possess less just so I could possess a little more.

Love,

Larry.
larry@rotb.org

The 77% Weekly

The 77% Weekly: The Religion-Outside-The-Box Newsletter
helps people find and be with (the) God (of their understanding) 40 out of 52 weeks a year.

 

Why 77%?
Two reasons:
1) 40/52 = 0.76923. The newsletter is sent every Monday except the last of each month.
2) In school 77% was a passing grade and ROTB wants to remind you that life isn’t graded.

Religion-Outside-The-Box is a donation-supported,
non-denominational, internet-based, 501c3-tax exempt religious congregation.

 

 

It’s o.k. to seek love.

Beloved reader, I am redoing the rotb.org website.  Again. Why am I redoing the website again? Because a website older than (blank) years is (blank minus one) years overdue for a facelift.  (The standard is three years for small sites and six years for large sites.)  ✧✧✧ While placing into the background a composite grid, 15 wide by five tall,

Read More »

Apple-Banana-Cap

An apple, a banana, and a baseball cap.🍎🍌🧢 ✧✧✧  I arrive at the wedding venue super early. My preference, always, is to arrive early, find the couple, and let them see that I’m on site. (It usually calms them down.) But, today, I’m super, super early. The couple haven’t even arrived yet. “You the photographer?” I ask a man pulling

Read More »

Deleted Scenes from the Book of Jonah.

A few weeks ago, in writing to you about the High Holy Day services, I referenced stopping the telling the story of the fish-dwelling prophet, Jonah in order to read to two-year old Nora. I thought, “Hey, I know what would make a good article! A fuller, playful retelling of the Book of Jonah.” But, then I read what I

Read More »