Jealousy Is Rottenness to the Bones, Part IV

This is the final part to a four part series dealing with jealousy, and it's effects on those directly involved. I initially did not intend to take it this far, but it just took on a life of it's own. I won't bore you with all the preliminary stuff, the meaning etc. I'll just let you know again who the characters are in this little drama. If you haven't read the first three parts, please do so, as to set up the whole scenario.

The characters are: Suspicious Sam and his wife Innocent Irene. Little Bad Bobby, and his Sweet Sister Suzy. We also have Wanna Be Model Mother Mary, and Model Daughter Daisy, and Good Son George, and his Jealous Dad Jack. Then we have workmates, Diligent Danny and Slacker Steve, Best Athlete Adam and rival, Second Best, Brian. We're not finished, we have "good friends," I Got The Best Betsy, and, I Could Car Less Carrie, and we end with Nasty Neighbor Ned, and Kind Hearted Ken.

We've dealt with, The married couple, Sam and Irene, also the siblings, Bobby and Suzy. We also spent time with the mother and daughter and father and son, Mary and Daisy, and George and Jack, respectively. These scenarios discussed familial jealousy, which can and has happened, maybe not in the way I wrote about, but we know it does happen.

So now we will finish the series with workmates, Danny and Steve............athletes, Adam and Brian...........friends Betsy and Carrie.............ending with neighbors Ned and Ken.

Let's look into the situation with Diligent Danny and Slacker Steve. You know, Steve had it made, if only he had continued as he began. He built up a good work record and reputation, when he started with the company. Somewhere along the line he let himself become satisfied with the status quo, not being progressive. After he reached a certain point he began to rest on his laurels. What he should have done, even before Danny came on the scene, continued to pay attention to the company's bottom line. And maybe Danny might not have been needed, or he could have worked along side Danny. After all Steve was a rock star in his own right in the beginning. Just think where the company would be if it had two rock stars. For instance, once when the company was in line for a multi million dollar contract Diligent Danny was showing promise, but still a little green as far as the ins and outs of the company, and was on the road to capturing the contract. Slacker Steve saw the promise that Danny was showing, and even when asked, wouldn't give Danny the information needed to cinch the contract. When asked by another employee why he wouldn't help Danny, his answer, "if he's as good as the boss thinks he is, he'll figure it out." Oh yes, he could and eventually did, but too late for that particular contract. How selfish, the contract would have boosted the income of everyone concerned. What about the new Benz that Steve wanted, it would have been his, talking about cutting off your nose to spite your face. (I'm just saying). Oh, did I mention, that the loss of the multi million dollar contract, costs numerous jobs, the possibility of new ones and the loss of some old ones. Did I say selfish, yes, with a capital S.

I'm not sure there's a solution for someone so selfish in the real world, but remember we live in a continuing perfecting world in this series. So what Slacker Steve could do is, keep in mind that success for one, is success for all concerned. What would be accomplished with his change of heart or different take on things? Well for one, he could consider that there is room at the top for more that one rock star, then consider, if he worked along side Danny, look where the company would be. And, about the unemployment status in his town, the company could put a serious dent in that. Oh well, we can all dream. Okay let's do, dream..............Danny and Steve work along side each other, the company becomes a fortune 500 company and the company hires thousands, and boost the economy of the whole state. WOW! I dream big, don't I.

Now we want to take a look at Best Athlete Adam and Second Best Brian. If Brian had been a true friend, he'd recognize Adam's natural talent, and be proud to even be called his friend. You see by being so competitive Brian lost all that he's worked for up to this point, his friendship, his scholarship, and his reputation. If Second Best Brian had not taken sports so seriously he could have kept his scholarship and catapulted that into a worthwhile career. After all a professional sports star only lasts, at best, until his mid thirties. Ask the likes of Michael Jordan, Joe Namath, Troy Aikman, Kareem, or even old timers like Willis Reed, (didn't think I knew him did you). So getting an education outside of the sports world, could have put him in line to compete in the real world. What's more think of the friendship that he sacrificed. A little more loyalty to his friend, and a little less competitiveness could have saved Brian from his eventual outcome.

Here's one of my favorite duos. That's "friends," I Got The Best Betsy, and I Could Care Less Carrie. Remember these two are college roommates. Betsy has always been jealous of Carrie's popularity, however Carrie could care less, she was there for an education, not the popularity. Popularity came natural to Carrie, due to her kindness, generosity, diligence, and the like. If only Betsy would apply herself to her education, and not strive for popularity, she'd find that her life would go much smoother. You see Betsy is at the University on a scholarship, where as, unknown to Betsy, Carrie needed no assistance. Betsy is in danger of losing her scholarship, due to her low grade point average. So instead of trying to be the popular fashion plate, she should pay close attention to her grades, after all, she aspires to be in Carrie's shoes, financially, one day, and the education that she is pursuing will set her in great stead to attain that goal. So the moral to this little tale is...............Study hard, apply yourself, and don't reach for empty goals like popularity, which could cause you to lose out on, what should be your ultimate goal, that of, making a difference in the world.

Finally, there's neighbors, Nasty Neighbor Ned, and Kind Hearted Ken. We all know that there's nothing worse in a neighborhood than a disagreeable neighbor. Realizing this, Ned should have done all that he could to keep the peace, after all he's had this trouble before, ending in, as he says disaster. When he related the former incident to Ken, Ken was very sympathetic, and without knowing the whole story assigned all the blame on the previous neighbor. However as time wore on Ken began to see a different side of Nasty Neighbor Ned and began to wonder about the situation with the previous neighbor. Ned had told Ken about the incidence, explaining that it escalated into an all out brawl, leading to the arrest of the neighbor, and his eventual restraining order against said neighbor. Now what Ken found out later from others in the neighborhood, is that Ken has been the neighborhood trouble maker since moving into the neighborhood. What Kind Hearted Ken did, living up to his name, is to give Nasty Neighbor Ned the benefit of the doubt, ultimately to his detriment. Now in our progressively perfecting world, Nasty Neighbor Ned is who he is and never going to change, so what Kind Hearted Ken should do is to feed Nasty Neighbor Ned with the proverbial "long handle spoon," and not get too close, before knowing the whole story about this neighborhood trouble maker. And after getting to know who and how he is be kind, but careful.

So, in all of the aforementioned accounts, unfortunately, as the Bible says, "Jealousy is rottenness to the bones." A lesson for all the "good guys," in these scenarios, remember, never stoop to the level of the other person, if possible, bring them up to yours, because two wrong don't make a right. To the jealous, take a good look inside and see what can and should be changed..................and make the effort to change. However, to all concerned if need be, there is help..............seek it.