When “envy” strikes with its bloody hand, insight goes blind and sight is lost… but the Lord’s mercy lifts us up!
Among co-workers as in friendship, among companions, brothers, partners and spouses… in every kind of relationship… love cannot be bought or sold!
What spoils the beauty of relationships between friends, companions or even co-workers is a stubborn disease called:
“envy”
Its causes: blind jealousy and a lack of trust in God and in oneself.
Its consequences:
… restlessness and boredom,
… chaos in dealings and communication,
… a lack of transparency,
… a habit of gossip, backbiting and plotting others’ failure,
… running away from oneself and trampling on other people’s privacy.
The cure:
there is only one: prayer that turns into action, which we recall morning and evening and repeat at every meeting, living by the Christian’s golden rule:
“Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.”
… Only through it can a person live in peace with his fellow man: rejoicing in the joy of the one who succeeds, supporting the weak so they can reach their goals, and comforting the grieving so they can climb out of the whirlpool of their sadness.
And always remember that love cannot be bought or sold: don’t fake it with others when you are living your “golden age”, and don’t turn it into revenge when you are living through “the struggle of darkness”. If you have lived what we have described in either case, know that you have not yet tasted love, but were drowning in the sea of self-interest, tossed between waves of desire, greed and confusion, without knowing on which shore they would throw you.
Be strong in God’s grace and trust in his justice, and let each love the other as Christ loves his Church, with a love free of deceit and trickery. Deal with everything through reflection, silence and calm, especially when your senses flare up and boil over in the face of all kinds of provocation and injustice. In this way everyone will know that we are children of light:
* friendships will last for ever, despite every challenge…
* relationships between companions will be kneaded with joy and transparency…
* relationships between co-workers will shine with the glow of individual and shared success…
* marriage will be sanctified and will not grow cold with time…
* brothers will stay united, far from greed over inheritance…
… This is what the community of God, the “Church”, means. Outside this understanding, God remains just a “lottery ticket” that we buy when we feel bankruptcy coming, throw away when it loses, and worship when it wins.
We say it again:
… don’t let anyone or anything rob you of your joy and your peace, because they are a grace from God.
Fr. Farid Saab
A blessed Lent to all
