Fan Another Flame

I saw something on Instagram the other day that really got me thinking. And got me questioning how I react to others and how envy can really cause an awful ripple effect.

Envy. Blowing out the other persons candle will not make yours shine brighter. - Tweet This

I always looked at envy and jealousy as the same thing. But, in reality, there is a stark difference.

Envy: a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions, etc.

To envy someone means you actually want to take something away from them and have it for yourself. You want them to have less so that you can have more. More fame, more fortune, more friends. Jealousy is more of a wish or a desire. You might be jealous of a friends home, but you would never want their home to be taken from them so that you can have it.

So how do we react to people who are gaining success in an area that we have been working at so hard, for so long?

I hate to admit this, but sometimes my sinful gut reaction is to wish that person didn't have that success so that I can have it. That is just down right nasty. There are 7 billion people in the world! There is enough success for everyone to have.

Are you blowing out candles? Each candle that we blow out is making the world a little bit darker. One candle at a time, one dream at a time. If we really want to be light, we need to spread light. Our envious shadowing over others is going to do the exact opposite.

What if we, as Christians, chose to fan each others flames instead of trying to blow them out. What if we encouraged each other to dream, even if it's the same dream.

And as we learn to fan each others flames, we shine brighter too. Their light is shining on us and ours on them. How much brighter are all of our candles together? I think we could change the world.

Who's candle can you be fanning right now to help change the world?