When we forget how generous God is with us, we forget that He can also be quite generous with others. When the landowner is challenged on how much he has given even the latecomers for their work in the fields, he replies “are you envious because I am generous?” (Mt. 20:15). The landowner reminds the complaining field hand that his complaint is not about justice, but generosity. If the worker were to reflect on his own experience with the landowner, he would doubtless realize that the landowner had been wonderfully generous with his wages, too.
We envy because we think God is being generous with that person over there, but not with me. If we reflect on our lives, we (like the complaining workers) will find that God has been far more generous with us than we realized. God, who has given us existence, life, intellect. God who has surrounded us with people who love us and are loved by us. God who gives us so many things to delight in, as well as the inclination even to delight at all. Examine your life carefully, and you will find that God has been very generous with you. Then you will see God’s generosity with others and rejoice as you are reminded yet again how we are all loved by a marvelously generous God.