Why are some of us unhappy? Some of us are unhappy because we feel that we have not achieved much in life. Some of us are unhappy because we are perfectionists and we constantly want to do even better than before. But for some of us, we are unhappy because we are jealous of others. We want to have what others have, or we want to be the centre of attention. When this happens, we begin to find ways and means to put others down, or to attract attention from others to whet our appetite for power and recognition, as our jealousy consumes us and blinds us to what is true and just.
In today's Gospel, we read: "A man was brought to
Jesus, a dumb demoniac. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb man
spoke and the people were amazed. 'Nothing like this has ever been seen
in Israel' they said. But the Pharisees said, 'It is through the prince
of devils that he casts out devils.'" The people loved Jesus for what He
said, the healing He did and the casting out of devils he did. The
Pharisees were constantly jealous with Jesus' increasing popularity and the words He said hit them
hard and pricked their conscience, but they refused to change and risk
losing their status and position. The Pharisees had become so jealous, that they even the good that Jesus was doing was, to them, the work of the devil. How absurd! But that is what jealousy does, and the Pharisees became blind to what is true and just.
What about us? Have we allowed jealousy to control our lives? Are we not happy, content and satisfied with the many gifts and talents God has given us? Why do we need to compare ourselves with others and become jealous of others because of what we do not have? God has made us special, unique amd gifted in different ways, and let us celebrate our uniqueness and give God the glory.
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