Shop-keep Rivalry

            Envy is a bitter vice. Thomas Lindberg writes of the legend of the two shopkeepers. They were bitter rivals, and their stores were directly across the street from each other.

            Envious, one of the other, they would each day track the other's business. If a customer made a purchase in one store, the proprietor would smile in triumph at his rival.

            The feud ran so deep, that one night, when one shopkeeper had an angel appear to him, the shopkeeper responded in an unimaginable way. The angel told the shopkeeper, "I will give you anything you ask, but whatever you receive, your competitor will receive twice as much. Would you be rich? You can be very rich, but he will be twice as wealthy. Do you wish to live a long and healthy life? You can, but his life will be longer and healthier. What is your desire?"

            The shopkeeper, thought for a moment, and then said, "Here is my request: Strike me blind in one eye!"

“A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot” (Prov. 14:30.)