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Limiting envy’s power begins with reframing our relationships with ourselves. The more secure we feel about ourselves, the less likely we are to want the lifestyle, body or possessions of someone else. Our most rooted identity was bestowed upon us by our Creator.
In our baptisms, we were not only welcomed into the family of God, we were also blessed with the sustaining presence of the Holy Spirit – “the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of council and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy.” The sign of the cross was made on our foreheads and we were sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. This is a big deal. And this eternal identity is worth calling to mind when we’re overcoming envy’s pervasive ways.
The next time you feel envy rising up, trace the sign of the cross on your hand, forehead or the corner of your notebook. Remind yourself that you are already more than enough. You are already loved, blessed and sealed with a cross that means you are immeasurably, eternally valuable.
This message is excerpted from “Envy” by Emily Carson in the March 2016 Café online magazine.