Comparison is the Thief of Joy

In the first reading for today, we hear about Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery to some Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The account is given in Genesis thusly:

“Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age; and he had made him a long tunic.

When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons, they hated him so much that they would not even greet him. One day, when his brothers had gone to pasture their father's flocks at Shechem,

Israel said to Joseph, "Your brothers, you know, are tending our flocks at Shechem. Get ready; I will send you to them."

So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan. They noticed him from a distance, and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him.

They said to one another: "Here comes that master dreamer! Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here; we could say that a wild beast devoured him. We shall then see what comes of his dreams."

When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from their hands, saying, "We must not take his life. Instead of shedding blood," he continued, "just throw him into that cistern there in the desert; but do not kill him outright."

His purpose was to rescue him from their hands and return him to his father.

So when Joseph came up to them, they stripped him of the long tunic he had on; then they took him and threw him into the cistern, which was empty and dry. They then sat down to their meal.

Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, balm and resin to be taken down to Egypt.

Judah said to his brothers: "What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood? Rather, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, instead of doing away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh."

His brothers agreed. They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver.” (Gn 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a)

The brothers of Joseph were so envious of their father’s love for him that they wanted to kill him and bury his body. Instead, they choose the “better” path by selling him into slavery.

How often is this you or I? Maybe we do not want to actually kill our friend, family member, coworker, or acquaintance, but we still hurt his or her reputation. What brings on this behavior? Maybe it's a wrong that someone does against us. Or maybe it’s a perceived injustice that we only suspect. 

A big reason that you or I act out against our neighbor, I would venture to guess, is envy. Like Joseph’s brothers, we see what our brother or sister has and we viciously desire it for ourselves. And by extension, we maliciously wish that they did not have the object of our desire. 

What a horrible thing. 

God has gifts for each of us and those gifts were given to you or I alone. I have gifts that you do not have and you have gifts that I do not have. Are we really to believe that God made a mistake in the gifts that He has given? Perhaps we are missing what God is attempting to bless us with because we are so fixated on “what we don’t have.” 

Mark Twain once quipped that “Comparison is the thief of joy.” I love this phrase. It encapsulates what I am driving at in this short reflection. Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (Jn 10:10)

As St. Paul puts it in his letter to the Philippians:

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves.” (Phil 2:1-3)

Do not let the world, the flesh, or the devil steal your joy. Do not let the green-eyed monster of envy steal your joy. Instead, choose Christ each and every day - be filled with Him alone. Do not compare yourself to others; rather, lay hold of the treasury of blessings that the Lord is pouring out upon you, new each morning!

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’” (Lamentations 3:22-24)