Dealing with envy
Envy is a powerful emotion.
The first murder in the Bible took place due to the jealousy Cain had for his brother Abel. Genesis 4:8 says, "...that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him." Abel lost his life due to the jealousy of his brother.
In I Samuel 18:6-16, as Saul and David came into Jerusalem the women were singing “Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands.” When Saul heard those words he burned with anger. Envy is a powerful emotion.
Saul should have affirmed David and expressed appreciation for his skills in battle. But he couldn’t do it. He was consumed with jealousy.
Jealousy grows out insecurity. An insecure person is incapable of sharing he glory. On the other hand, a secure per son is able to share the glory. John Maxwell tells a story about one of his earlier Pastorates. There was a man in the church named “Claude.” Although Maxwell was the “Pastor” Claude was the unofficial leader of the church. Claude had been a member of the church for years and had earned the trust of the people.
As Maxwell became Pastor he quickly learned that if anything was going to get done, it had to have the approval of Claude. Now, at that point, he had a decision to make. He could go to Claude and say “Claude, I’m the Pastor. I’m the leader of the church. You have to follow me. I don’t care if you have lived here all your life, I’m in charge now. The church isn’t big enough for both of us.” lol
Again, that’s what he could have done but it was definitely not the smart thing to do. Instead of drawing a line in the sand, Maxwell did what a smart leader should do, instead of being envious of Claude, he embraced him. He became friends with Claude. He bounced ideas off of Claude. He knew it had to have Claude’s approval so, he might as well get Claude involved from the start.
Are you consumed with envy and unable to share the glory? Envy can become a poison that eats us up. I was talking with a friend of mine recently about the subject of envy. My friend said that years ago they had struggled some with envy (like we all do) but that they discovered quickly that was no way to be happy in life. Instead, happiness is about being ourselves and being thankful for what we have.
Instead of being envious of others, be thankful for what God has given You and be yourself today.
The first murder in the Bible took place due to the jealousy Cain had for his brother Abel. Genesis 4:8 says, "...that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him." Abel lost his life due to the jealousy of his brother.
In I Samuel 18:6-16, as Saul and David came into Jerusalem the women were singing “Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands.” When Saul heard those words he burned with anger. Envy is a powerful emotion.
Saul should have affirmed David and expressed appreciation for his skills in battle. But he couldn’t do it. He was consumed with jealousy.
Jealousy grows out insecurity. An insecure person is incapable of sharing he glory. On the other hand, a secure per son is able to share the glory. John Maxwell tells a story about one of his earlier Pastorates. There was a man in the church named “Claude.” Although Maxwell was the “Pastor” Claude was the unofficial leader of the church. Claude had been a member of the church for years and had earned the trust of the people.
As Maxwell became Pastor he quickly learned that if anything was going to get done, it had to have the approval of Claude. Now, at that point, he had a decision to make. He could go to Claude and say “Claude, I’m the Pastor. I’m the leader of the church. You have to follow me. I don’t care if you have lived here all your life, I’m in charge now. The church isn’t big enough for both of us.” lol
Again, that’s what he could have done but it was definitely not the smart thing to do. Instead of drawing a line in the sand, Maxwell did what a smart leader should do, instead of being envious of Claude, he embraced him. He became friends with Claude. He bounced ideas off of Claude. He knew it had to have Claude’s approval so, he might as well get Claude involved from the start.
Are you consumed with envy and unable to share the glory? Envy can become a poison that eats us up. I was talking with a friend of mine recently about the subject of envy. My friend said that years ago they had struggled some with envy (like we all do) but that they discovered quickly that was no way to be happy in life. Instead, happiness is about being ourselves and being thankful for what we have.
Instead of being envious of others, be thankful for what God has given You and be yourself today.
Comments