Diary of a Ghetto Priest | Why the jealousy? There really is enough for everybody

Why is it that jealousy rages in the hearts of men and women when, really, there is enough to go around for everybody? More-over, we are just who we are. There is enough land, there is enough food, there is enough clothes - if we are willing to work for it.

We hear of the story of Cain and Abel, how Cain slew Abel - the two sons of Adam and Eve tragically competing over the love of God. Cain murders Abel, the more generous son being favoured by heavenly Father.

We also hear how Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had him in his old age: and Israel made him a coat of diverse colours.

His brethren, seeing that he was loved by his father more than all of them, hated him, and would not speak to him. They planned to murder Joseph by throwing him in a deep pit.

Sibling rivalry never ends. There is hatred and jealousy between family members: fathers and sons, brothers and sisters. There is envy between husband and wife over the love of children. There are fights over wealth, there is backbiting about boyfriends and girlfriends. There are arguments about physical beauty and even about virtue and holiness!

Jesus Himself, the son of God, suffered from the jealousy of others, especially the scribes and Pharisees, Mt. 23: 13-15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! Because you shut the kingdom of Heaven against men, for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow who would enter to go in." Verse 29: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees hypocrites... if we had lived in the days of our fathers we would not have taken part with them in the shedding the blood of the prophets. Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. They wanted to hurl Him down a cliff, but His time had not yet come."

Done nothing wrong

Eventually, they murdered Him. Jesus had done nothing wrong. He was an innocent lamb. But His virtue was His crime. Even church people would do this to their own brothers and sisters who seek holiness in Christ. The heart of man is so devious, only God alone knows the heart of man.

We ourselves must look into our hearts and feelings; we don't want the instinct of jealousy, which stems from pride, to overcome our better selves, resulting in terrible and destructive actions and words that make us hurt each other even to the point of tears, and hindering the building of bridges between people.

If we would pour ourselves out in service to one another, there would be so much love and laughter and fellowship rather than hatred. Our Jamaican society; the radio shows, the TV. The Internet knows our weaknesses as Jamaican people.

We gossip, we spread scandal, we calumniate people and create so much negative feelings. It is tragic. Yes, we must correct and call evil, 'evil', but only to bring about truth. The truth is the pruning of the vine, rather than chopping down the plant. It can bear so much more fruit! The Lord says, "I do not wish the sinner to die but to live."

Competitions create envy and jealousy

Pain, negativity, fear and anxiety are terrible experiences. Forgiveness, truth, love and kindness are healing and beautiful experiences. There really is enough for everybody. There are virtues in everyone, there is the joy of life for all of us, if we build up each in truth and in love.

We must be careful in our Jamaican society not to create so much competition in sports - even among kids, we must avoid too much competition in schools in academic; we must avoid beauty contests and even food contests, which can create so much envy and jealousy.

Think about it, brothers and sisters, is it really good to have so much competition in all aspects of our Jamaican society, among kids, among adults, among businesses? This is so much inferiority complex among the rest of us loosers! After all, there can only be one winner!