SUN-DAY SCHOOL LESSON: DRAFTED ON THE EVE OF ENVY by
e.graham
A day after the 2022
NFL Draft, where the world celebrated all 262 players, who realized their
dreams of having an opportunity to play professional football, which ended with
Mr. Irrelevant, Iowa State's QB Brock Purdy, we must warn those players, who
were selected about one of the deadliest of the seven deadly sins that reside
in the soul of man, known as ENVY, "The Mother of Murder."
Why? Because, while, it seems, as if, everyone is cheering
for their newfound success and potential financial riches, they are also those,
who envy their potential rise to stardom.
While this spirit of ENVY can come from strangers, former
teammates, and other athletes, who weren't lucky to be drafted, unfortunately,
it can also appear within one's own family unit-whether it's a brother, sister,
cousin, father, close friend or girlfriend, who were invited and sat in the
room at their selection party, with a cellphone. recording the celebration as
their names were being called on national television.
It's sad but true. Because, while these newly drafted
athletes were putting on their freshly fitted NFL caps, proudly displaying
their logos, as their eyes teared up with joy, somewhere, in that room, someone
was fighting the emotion of ENVY.
I know this sounds odd. But, even, within the Biblical text,
we have read about sibling rivalries that were, intensified by animosity and
resentment between Jacob & Esau (Gen 27:35,) Cain & Abel (Gen 4:8),
Rachel and Leah (Gen 30:1) Joesph and his brothers (Gen 37:11), because one was
favored over the other.
This ugly emotion, known as ENVY, can rear its head like a
poisonous King Cobra rattlesnake striking all families, not just the ones
labeled dysfunctional, subconsciously or consciously, which could lead one to
destroy life-long relationships within family units through
"blackmail" by revealing "family secrets" to the media in
order to harm one's chances to succeed, frequent family conflicts due to
request of large sums of money, based on the philosophy that "you got it;
don't you," and continuous attempts of self-sabotage through endless
fights and arguments, which could lead to prison time-whether it's a result of
a girlfriend or future wife, who can't handle all the attention one is
receiving. Therefore, she uses the birth of a newborn baby as a bargaining tool
for leverage along with her sexuality to cause one to be jealous (Prov 6:34)
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Therefore, they just watch in silence. But, when given an
opportunity to speak, ONLY fill his head with negativity, belittling him about
not being selected higher or suggesting that he should have gone to another
team.
Or, a brother/sister, may sarcastically joke-that another
player is better, one probably will get injured, cut by pre-season, out of the
league in three years, while ending up the first-round bust.
This was highlighted in the classic 1996 film Jerry Maguire,
where the character Tee-Pee, played by comedian Aries Spears constantly
downplayed his brother Rod Tidwell, a wide receiver for Arizona Cardinal portrayed by Cuba Gooding
Jr.
So, while pondering all of this a day after the 2022 NFL
draft, one should BEWARE of this envious spirit, which lingers in the hearts of
some of OUR family members by::
2. NOT BEING NAIVE TO DENY IT
3. TRY NO TO MINIMIZE IT, INTERNALIZE IT OR WRESTLE WITH IT,
where it moves one to anger or depression
4. TRY NOT TO JUSTIFY IT
5. SET BOUNDARIES, AVOID NEGATIVITY BY NOT GIVING THEM
ACCESS TO YOUR DREAMS
6. BE WISE, CHEER FOR YOURSELF.
7. PROTECT, NURTURE
YOUR DREAMS AND CONTINUE TO WALK IN YOUR GREATNESS, (bobbeethehater.blogspot.com) (Source:T.Hall)
