Why Couldn’t It Be Me?

It’s easy to compare. Whether it’s social media likes, website views, or even recognition at work or church, we often measure our worth through the eyes of others. As one writer confessed, even seeing how many readers were on a new article became a test of value. “Was it worth writing if no one seemed to notice?” The unspoken question behind all of it was this: Why not me?

The Poison of Envy

Envy is subtle but deadly. It’s the shadow cast when someone else’s success makes us feel smaller, when someone else’s gift makes us feel less valuable. Scripture shows how envy can distort even good relationships:

• Cain killed Abel because of envy (Genesis 4:3–8).

• King Saul eyed David with suspicion after hearing, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7–9).

• Even the religious leaders handed Jesus over to Pilate out of envy (Mark 15:9–10).

Envy is, as James writes, “earthly, unspiritual, demonic” (James 3:14–15). It can twist our view of others, causing us to minimize their gifts while magnifying our insecurities.

We all know the feeling that bitter wind that chills the soul when someone else is praised or promoted. But the truth is that envy doesn’t just diminish others in our eyes; it shrinks our joy in God’s plan for our own lives.

A Different Kind of Heart

C.S. Lewis once imagined the kind of humility God wants to see in us: the ability to celebrate the beauty of another person’s work as freely as if it were our own. In The Screwtape Letters, Lewis writes of God’s desire for a heart that could “design the best cathedral in the world, know it to be the best, and rejoice in the fact without being any more glad at having done it than if it had been done by another.”

Can we rejoice when others succeed even in the very areas where we long to excel? Moses once responded to jealousy among his followers by saying, “Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets!” (Numbers 11:29). The apostle Paul likewise rejoiced that Christ was preached, even by those with rival motives (Philippians 1:15–18).

This kind of freedom is only possible when we see every gift both ours and others’ as coming from God’s hand.

What Do You Have That You Did Not Receive?

Scripture reminds us that we are not self-made. Paul asks the sobering question in 1 Corinthians 4:7:
“What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?”

Your abilities, your talents, even your opportunities all of them are gifts. We might as well be proud of the color of our hair, as Lewis points out. Seeing our gifts as given changes how we view both success and failure. It frees us to celebrate when someone else shines because their light doesn’t dim our own; both are reflections of the Giver.

John the Baptist beautifully displayed this truth when his followers worried about Jesus’s growing influence:
A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven (John 3:27).
John saw himself simply as “the friend of the bridegroom” (John 3:29), content to prepare the way for the King. His joy was complete when Jesus’s glory increased, even if it meant his own ministry would fade.

Defeating Envy with Gratitude

The cure for envy begins with gratitude not just for what we have, but for what others have as well. When we remember that every good thing is from God (James 1:17), we learn to admire others’ gifts as part of His master design.

Try this practice: when you’re tempted to compare, stop and thank God for the very thing you feel jealous of. If someone else is praised, bless God for their faithfulness. If a friend gets the opportunity you hoped for, thank God for opening that door for them. Gratitude disarms envy, because it shifts our gaze from ourselves to the Giver.

Living as Brooms Before the King

Our talents, accomplishments, and opportunities are ultimately meant to point to Christ. We are, as one writer described, “but brooms to sweep the floor before the King comes again.” Our greatest success is not found in surpassing others but in faithfully using what we have been given for God’s glory.

When we rest in this truth, the question changes from “Why not me?” to “How can I serve Him with what I’ve been given?” Instead of competing for attention or recognition, we can echo John the Baptist’s words:
“He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

Freedom from envy comes when we find our joy, not in being first, but in pointing to the One who is greater than all.

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