Love Does Not Envy

So I've been doing this thing lately where I write down the characteristics of love (1 Corinthians 13) one by one and once I feel that I have embraced the characteristic then I move on to the next one. For those of you not familiar with this passage here is a list of the characteristics of love described in the bible in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
Love is patient, kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil, rejoices in truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Anyways, today I began my "love does not envy" section which is obviously a very hard one for all of us. And when I think of this love characteristic and try to find it in my own life my eyes are opened to how truly hypocritical I am. I mean just last night I broke down while having a conversation with my parents about less privileged people around the world and how Americans are extremely selfish and ignorant of things happening around the world. Even today when "social justice" is supposedly a trend in our generation. I want to make a major difference by going to Africa or adopting kids or sending them money while deep down I am still envious of people who are better off than me. And I dont even mean better off in wealth. It could be anything; I am often envious of popularity or position. We as Americans really do not realize that sending money or sponsoring a child is not the answer to solving the problems of the world. Although it does help, our heart is much more important than our actions. Most would agree that America is the leading example of the world as far as technological advancement and society in general which means that everything we put in our everyday life is seen by the rest of the world. America's impact on the world does not come from the few charitable souls that decide they want to give a little spare cash. America's impact on the world comes from the example that we set with American philosophy. What I'm saying here is by no means calling out America, only myself. In my own life my goal is to love God and love others. Regardless of religion the second half of that goal is a good virtue for anyone to have. And by living an envious life, or even worse by subconsciously living an envious life I am missing the big picture of what I need to do in order to help these malnourished orphans, these young girls sold for sex, these boys forced to kill their families. This is the sole definition of hypocrisy and I am humbled yet excited to really dig deep and embrace this idea that "love does not envy".

I apologize that this post was kind of all over the place, this is a very emotional subject for me and it was difficult to organize my thoughts in a manner which made sense but I did my best. If you disagree with anything I have said or would like clarity please feel free to email or comment.

p.s. On a lighter note, check out this funny youtube video. It is hilarious in my opinion and deserves to go viral...