But what struck us most about Pai Gow was the "ENVY" button. Players can win a bonus if someone else at the top makes quads or better.
"From what I've read, envy is a bad thing," we said to the dealer. It was a quasi-joke. because....
A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. - Proverbs 14:30
No matter what kind of poker you play, envy can creep in. If someone gets on a hot streak and wins several pots in a row, you can envy his or her success and want to get your own big stack of chips. But that can be a dangerous thing. Consider....
The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. - Genesis 4:4-5
Cain brought a "fruits of the soil" offering, which he probably presumed God would like. But God didn't. We think Cain's anger grew out of envy - and it led to a warning from God:
"If you do what it right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." - Genesis 4:7
Sadly, these were prophetic words - because verse 8 shows Cain eventually killed his brother in history's first recorded murder case.
So what is the right answer for fighting envy? It may sound incredibly simple - but it's the Bible's advice:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. - I Corinthians 13:4
To borrow from the U.S. political season, we should let love trump envy - and "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). I Corinthians 13 deserves a close look, when it comes to what true love is all about. May godly love show from you in whatever game you play - and leave the "envy" for somebody else's wager.
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