When Envy Takes Hold

Reflection

I'm not really a big envy person. At least, I don't think of myself that way. I don't spend a lot of time looking at what someone else has and wishing it were mine. But the more I thought about this verse, the more I realized that perhaps that is why I needed to stop and look at it. Sometimes we understand a sin more clearly when we see what it did in someone else's life.

I love reading the accounts of the people in the Old Testament because they were real people with real emotions and real life experiences. They weren't characters who walked through Scripture without feeling anything. They experienced jealousy, anger, disappointment, rejection, fear, grief, and yes, envy. Some of them experienced the consequences of someone else's envy, and their stories remind us just how dangerous it can become.

The Dangerous Progression of Resentment

Think about Joseph. His brothers saw the favor he received from their father, heard about his dreams, and their envy eventually became hatred. They didn't simply wish that Joseph had less. They wanted him gone, and their envy led them to sell their own brother.

Then there was Abel. Cain became angry when Abel's offering was accepted and his own was not. Instead of dealing rightly with his own heart before God, Cain allowed his anger to turn against his brother, and Abel paid the ultimate price.

David also experienced the envy of King Saul. David's success became a source of torment for Saul. After the women sang about David's victories, Saul became angry and began watching David with suspicion. What could have been an opportunity for humility became something much darker. Saul's envy grew until he was willing to pursue David and seek his death.

That is one of the things that makes envy so dangerous. Envy is more than noticing that someone has something we want. It is a painful resentment toward another person's advantage, success, position, relationship, ability, or blessing. Instead of simply recognizing what someone else has, envy can make us dissatisfied with what God has given us because we are so focused on what He has given someone else.

When envy takes hold, rational thinking can begin to disappear.

When Envy Blinds Us to Christ

And when envy takes hold, rational thinking can begin to disappear. A person can become so consumed with another person's success or position that their own actions stop making sense. Instead of asking, "How can I grow? How can I be thankful? What does God want to produce in me?" the heart becomes focused on bringing the other person down.

That is what we see in King Saul. God had corrected him, but instead of humbling himself before God, Saul became increasingly consumed with David. His attention became fixed on the man he believed was taking something away from him. His envy did not produce anything good in Saul's life. It produced suspicion, anger, hatred, and eventually a determination to destroy David.

That is a serious warning because envy works against the very love God calls us to have for one another. Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Envy moves in the opposite direction. Instead of wanting what is good for another person, it can make us resent their good. Instead of celebrating someone's blessing, we can secretly wish it belonged to us or that they would lose it.

And then we come to Jesus.

Mark tells us that Pilate understood why the chief priests had delivered Jesus to him. It was for envy. Think about that. They were standing before the Son of God, witnessing His ministry and hearing His teaching, yet instead of recognizing who He was and what they could have received through Him, envy blinded them to what was right in front of them.

They accused Him. They sought His death. They were willing to see an innocent man condemned rather than surrender their position and pride.

Guarding the Quiet Corners of the Heart

Proverbs 27:4 asks, "Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?" That is a powerful question because envy can work quietly in the heart. It may begin with something as simple as, "Why do they get that?" or "Why does everyone notice them?" or "Why wasn't I chosen?"

But if we allow those thoughts to take root, they can begin producing something ugly in us.

Maybe someone else received the promotion we wanted. Maybe another person seems to have the marriage or family relationship we long for. Maybe your sibling receives the attention from your parents that you wish you had. Maybe someone else has an opportunity you prayed for, a talent you wish you possessed, or a life that looks easier than your own.

The question is not whether we will ever notice those differences. We will. The question is what we do with what happens inside of us when we see them.

We can take those feelings to God, or we can feed them. We can thank Him for what He has given us, or we can allow someone else's blessing to make us miserable. We can ask Him to help us love the person we are tempted to envy, or we can begin finding reasons why they don't deserve what they have.

I think that is where this Scripture becomes personal for all of us. Envy does not have to begin with some great desire to destroy another person. It can begin with a small dissatisfaction that we refuse to surrender to God.

And if we are not careful, what begins in the heart can eventually affect the way we speak, think, treat others, and even the decisions we make.

I don't want someone else's blessing to become the reason I cannot see my own—
Rejoice in God's goodness to others and trust Him with your life.

Before You Go

Maybe you recognize something in this devotional that you wish you didn't. Perhaps someone else received what you wanted, and if you're honest, their blessing has been bothering you. Maybe it is a relationship, a promotion, attention from your parents, an opportunity, or something else you have wanted for a long time.

Don't be ashamed to bring that feeling to God. You don't have to pretend that disappointment isn't there. Tell Him exactly what is bothering you and ask Him to help you surrender it before it takes root in your heart.

Someone else's blessing does not mean God has forgotten you.

You may not understand what He is doing right now, but you can trust Him with what belongs to you and with what belongs to someone else. Ask Him to help you see people through His eyes and to find contentment in His care.

You don't have to carry someone else's blessing as though it were your loss. Give it to Jesus, and let Him teach your heart how to rejoice again.