Jealousy is such a sly tool of the devil. 

When you look at someone else for what they have you rob yourself of joy.

I used to do this and sometimes I still do.

It is not what others have that I am jealous of. I have gone to several houses that are mansions but I am not in envy of that style of living. I love my house and my little parcel of land. The butterflies and the birds in my gardens are a daily source of wonder for me.

Yet, I do still envy because I am competitive and I want to be the best.

I found myself looking at my stats on this blog and then comparing that to others who are successful and I found myself in the throes of jealousy.

I was suffocating the joy that I could have gained from this blog.

So I decided not to look anymore at how many followers were following other blogs. I wanted to rejoice in the special people who had chosen to be my followers, not discount them because they were not among thousands, rather treasure them because they were under one hundred. 

When you become jealous of someone else the tendency is to steal what you are jealous of. You think that if you just have that one thing then you will be as successful and happy as they are. You stop looking at the wonder of your own life because you see the wonder of theirs.

The whole concept of jealousy is that you are looking outside of yourself for joy.

Joy is within you.

It is to embrace life in all of its difficulties and successes.

It is to live in the moment seeking to make the next moment better by making wise decisions in the present. 

Joy is found in the smallest places if you have keen vision, it can erupt from your soul when you connect with God, it can warm your heart when you help someone who is down and out. 

Jealousy is a thief of joy. But alas, jealousy robs the one who holds it in their heart greater than the one it seeks to rob.