On Jealousy

Lately I've been thinking about jealousy. It's such an odd emotion! People are jealous for a wide variety of reasons, they're jealous of money, material posessions and the attentions of other people mostly. And one reason jealousy is so hated, I think, is not only because it's an unhappy emotion, but because it sneaks up on a person. You don't see jealousy coming, you just feel it in an oncoming burst when you're most vulnerable and upsetable. When you're most likely to be sucked in to the rocky bottom of the vortex and have your bare soul scraped and scarred. And the funny thing about jealousy is it wears many disguises and uses many methods. It can disguise itself as despair or anger, or even more pleasing emotions. It can wear a pleasant mask so you think you're doing something for justice or "the common good" when really it couldn't be more selfish. People become jealous of other peoples' material posessions and covet them unashamedly. People fight for other peoples' attention in as childlike a manner as a five year old whose mother has noticed another child's accomplishments. People even become jealous of their girlfriend, boyfriend, fiancee, husband, wife, relative or just friend's time. Why do we feel this way? Is it a controllable thing? I think so in some ways. In the case of time jealousy I think it would help a lot if we stopped to consider the situation in a reasonable light. For this is all too often the very beginning of jealousy: irrationality, fear and doubt. For if you examine the situation closely with an unbiased eye is it really that big of a deal if so and so has a nicer car than you? Will it matter in ten years how much coveted praise was poured on an undeserving target by someone close to you? And if your girlfriend really had interest in someone else and made this apparent in their actions are they really worth your time, worry and jealousy? If everyone was content with what they had, remembered they could fully trust a worthwhile friend and attention from anyone but God isn't something to be too coveted could we, then, eliminate jealousy? Probably not. But I think we could make things better. Who knows. But it's just an interesting thought. Why DO we have jealousy over stupid inconsequential things? Is it worth our anger? Our sadness, rejection, dispair, fury etc?