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A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Dr Rachel Mann

Good morning.

There is an old religious fable about a hardworking farmer who is blessed with a visit from God and offered three wishes as a sign of good fortune. The wishes come with one simple condition: Whatever he wishes for, God will bless his neighbour with double. The farmer accepts God’s gracious offer and asks for one hundred cattle. When God provides them, he is delighted until he sees the two hundred cattle God has given to the farmer’s neighbour.

Nonetheless, the farmer moves on to his second wish. He asks for one hundred acres of land, and again is thrilled until he sees that God has given his neighbour two hundred acres. Rather than feeling joy at his good fortune, the farmer could not control his jealousy that his neighbour had received double what he had. So, he presented God with his third and final wish: that he be blinded in one eye. And God wept.

It can be difficult to be pleased for others’ good fortune. In our envy, we may even wish them ill. Crucially, when we are envious, we can fail to see the blessings we’ve received and be thankful for them. Instead, like the farmer in the story, we can concentrate too jealously on other’s blessings, not our own.

The Book of Proverbs says, ‘A sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones.’ I’m prone to envy, but I find the way to cultivate a ‘sound heart’ is to be thankful for the grace in my life. It’s a small gesture but it helps me live more generously in the world.

Gracious God, help me to be thankful for the good things I receive and lead me to delight in the blessings and achievements given to others.

Amen.