Choosing Celebration 选择感恩
Dexu Xia
A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30
Writer Marilyn McEntyre shares the story of learning from a friend that “the opposite of envy is celebration.” Despite this friend’s physical disability and chronic pain, which limited her ability to develop her talents in the ways she’d hoped, she was somehow able to uniquely embody joy and to celebrate with others, bringing “appreciation into every encounter” before she passed away.
That insight—“the opposite of envy is celebration”—lingers with me, reminding me of friends in my own life who seem to live out this kind of comparison-free, deep, and genuine joy for others.
Envy is an easy trap to fall into. It feeds on our deepest vulnerabilities, wounds, and fears, whispering that if we were only more like so-and-so, we wouldn’t be struggling, and we wouldn’t be feeling bad.
As Peter reminded new believers in 1 Peter 2, the only way to “rid [ourselves]” of the lies that envy tells us is to be deeply rooted in the truth, to “have tasted”—deeply experienced—“that the Lord is good” (vv. 1–3). We can “love one another deeply, from the heart” (1:22) when we know the true source of our joy—“the living and enduring word of God” (v. 23).
We can surrender comparison when we remember who we really are—beloved members of “a chosen people, . . . God’s special possession.” We’re called “out of darkness into his wonderful light” (2:9).
What examples of comparison-free joy have influenced your life? How does remembering your place in the body of Christ free you from the need to compare yourself to others?
Loving God, source of all that’s good, help me to let go of envy’s lies, the kind of lies that suck out joy and “rot the bones.” Help me to instead celebrate the countless beautiful gifts of life in Your kingdom.
心中安静，是肉体的生命；嫉妒是骨中的朽烂。—箴言14章30节
作家玛丽莲 · 麦肯泰尔（Marilyn McEntyre）曾分享她从一位朋友身上学到的功课：“嫉妒的反面是赞赏和感恩。”纵然这位朋友因身体残疾和长期疼痛之苦，无法以她所愿的方式发挥天赋。但在她离世前，却仍能用她独特的方式展现出喜乐的心，与他人一同感恩，让每一次与人相遇，都充满了赞赏。
这发人深省的洞见萦绕在我脑中，让我想起好些朋友都活出了这种不攀比，且能因他人蒙福而有深刻和真正的喜乐。
嫉妒是个很容易让人掉入的陷阱。这嫉妒会因我们最深的弱点、伤痛和恐惧而滋长，并不断在我们耳边悄声说，只要我们能更像某某人，我们就不必再挣扎，也不会感到难受了。
正如彼得提醒初信者说，要“除去”嫉妒对我们所说的谎言，唯一的方法就是深深扎根于真理中，“尝过”且深刻体会“主恩的滋味”是何等美好（彼得前书2章1-3节）。当我们确知喜乐的泉源来自“上帝活泼长存的道”（1章23节），我们就能“从心里彼此切实相爱”（1章22节）。
当我们记得自己真正的身分，就能放下攀比的心。我们是蒙爱的，“是被拣选的族类……是属上帝的子民”，是被上帝呼召离开黑暗，进入奇妙的光明里（2章9节）。
试举例他人不攀比而得的喜乐如何影响你。
谨记自己在基督里的身分，
如何助你摆脱需要与人比较的心态？
慈爱的上帝，帮助我摆脱嫉妒的谎言，
因它使我毫无喜乐、骨中朽烂，
帮助我能因祢国度有无数美好的恩赐而感恩。