No Envy or Jealousy

On Wednesday we will practice not becoming jealous:

This is who He is…a jealous God.  Exodus 20:5

There is a great difference between our jealousy and God's. God is jealous over that which belongs to Him. We are jealous over that which belongs to someone else and not to us. God is jealous over what He has; we are jealous over what we do not have that someone else does have.

If we don't understand this, we can become a really bad witness for Him. Because of our envy we basically tell the world "He doesn't own it, it's mine!"

So, we should…Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don't have.  Eccl 6:9

"Love does not envy."  It is impossible to envy someone and love them at the same time.  So, what is envy?  It's resenting God's goodness to others and ignoring God's goodness to me.  That's what envy is.

The Bible tells us real clearly that envy is behind most other sins. In James 3:16, it says, "Wherever there is envy you'll find every kind of evil." 

Anorexia: People starve themselves because they envy skinny people
Adultery: People envy somebody else, their spouse, so they steal them.
Bitterness: You resent people things that you wish you had achieved.
Complaining, Conflict, Dishonesty.
Exaggeration: People overstate accomplishments out of envy.
Gossip: We build ourselves up and tear other people down out of envy.
Hypocrisy: We kiss up to those we envy then talk behind their back.
Insecurity, Judgmentalism,
Manipulating: It causes us to scheme and want to get our own way.

Ask God to reveal the envy/jealousy behind your struggles.

The Bible says that envy can make you power-hungry, rude, sarcastic,
spiteful, stingy, stubborn, unforgiving,
ungrateful, unkind and vain.

Not a pretty picture.

The Bible says that envy can turn you into a worrier and also into a workaholic. Ecclesiastes 4:10 says, "I've learned why people work so hard to succeed. It's because they envy the things their neighbors have."

    The Bible tells us in Proverbs 14:30 that envy is like bone cancer. It will eat you alive. It starts inside, and it makes you miserable.

Is it worth it?

No.

Nothing destroys friendships faster than envy. It can destroy families. It can destroy businesses. It can destroy neighborhoods. It can even cause nations to go at war with each other. Simply out of envy. This is one destructive sin.

Dang, that is scary stuff! So, how does it start, how do we prevent it?

Comparing is at the root of all envy. The Bible says over and over again, never compare yourself to anybody else. The Bible says it's foolish. The Bible says it's dumb, unwise. You're never to compare the way you look, your income, your intelligence, your kids, your husband or wife or your job or anything else. The Bible says do not do that.

So, today try not to compare yourself with anyone! God made you unique!

Besides all the things listed above it also keeps you from entering into the joy of other people. You miss out on a whole lot of joy in life you could be enjoying.

So to help you not miss the joy:

Enjoy something you already have that you may take for granted.

Celebrate with a friend who did better than you.