Envied of His Neighbour

Solomon built more than almost anyone in history. When he looked back on all that work, he saw something uncomfortable underneath it: “Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.”

A lot of hustle is really comparison. We say we want to grow, but often we want to grow past someone. The neighbour, the old classmate, the competitor whose posts we keep checking.

Proverbs says what that does to us: “A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.” Envy doesn’t just spoil our work. It rots us from the inside.

Paul gives the cure: “But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.” Run your own race. Ask God what faithfulness looks like for you, and stop letting someone else move your goal posts.