When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” – Genesis 30:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 29, 2012): Genesis 30

When bad things happen, sometimes the last person we want around us is someone who seems to be having an easy time of it. What we want is someone that is going through the struggle. The cultural phrase that we use is that “misery loves company.” Unhappy people just seem to like to be around other unhappy people. It really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Logic says that two unhappy should drive each other into even deeper depression, but it doesn’t seem to work that way. Maybe partially it is because we adjust our own idea of what normal is. And when we are with someone who is unhappy, the emotional distance is simply less than it is with someone that is enjoying the time of their lives.

But there is a second stage. While “misery loves company” is weird but maybe understandable, it is a short step from there to envying those that seem to be having an easier time of it. Envy is grieving at the blessings of someone else, and there is maybe no sin that is more injurious to ourselves, others and to God. Envy destroys everything and almost makes blessing impossible to happen in our lives. And envy is our complaint to God about the way that he is handling his creation.

Rachel had found her way into envy. And now she was in trouble. Her complaint is not that she wanted a child, she wanted children. She had to out rank the sister who was the object of her envy. And if she couldn`t, well, then life just wouldn`t be worth living.

The unfortunate part of Rachel story is that this comment is actually a bit of foreshadowing for her life. She would have children. Their names would be Joseph and Benjamin, but she would die giving birth to Benjamin.

Whether or not we actually die, emotionally envy kills us. And it makes it hard to recover from the bad times of life. And the reality of Rachel`s life – and of ours – is that she had focused on one area in her life where she was not blessed. But in other areas she was – even to the point of being the soul mate and best friend of her husband. But she couldn’t see it. Envy blinds us to the good in our life. And if we can`t see that then maybe life might as well be over. Because we won`t see the good even when it comes along.

   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 31