“The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves.” ~ William Pen
Have you ever seen jealousy and envy destroy a friendship? I have.
It causes a person to become judgmental, rude, critical, and inconsiderate. It ends the friendship between the jealous party and the one who is envied. But jealous people lose more than good friends; they gradually lose their ability to recognize the bitterness and selfishness that reside in their souls, and it affects all areas of their lives.
That’s why it’s so important to identify any tinge of jealousy or envy before it takes residence in our hearts. Are we coveting someone else’s income, marriage, ministry, status, popularity, job, appearance, etc.? Are we afraid someone else will become more popular, influential, or wealthy than we are?
If so, we need to:
1. Seek God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:8-10).
2. Pray for contentment (Philippians 4:12-13).
3. Ask forgiveness of anyone we’ve hurt (James 5:16).
Most jealous people don’t do these things. They let the evil monsters of jealousy and envy destroy their relationships and their perspective. Let’s not let it do that to us!
Here are some Scriptures to read, recite, ponder, and memorize if you’re having difficulty in this area:
Proverbs 14:30: "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones."
1 Corinthians 3:3: "You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?"
1 Corinthians 13:4: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud."
James 3:14-16: "But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice."
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Some people teach that jealousy is fear you'll lose something you have and envy is wanting something you don't have. However, the two words historically and biblically have been used synonomously (Merriam Webster Dictionary). From my limited study, it appears that jealousy may be used in Scripture as a more active or angry form of envy.
For the sake of those who differentiate between envy and jealousy, this devotion addresses both.
For a look at a healthy kind of jealousy, see Our Jealous God.
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Bible Love Notes
You seem to use jealousy and envy inter-changeably. I believe there is a difference. The main difference between envy and jealousy is that envy is the emotion of coveting what someone else has, while jealousy is the emotion related to fear that something you have will be taken away by someone else.
ReplyDeleteHi Karenay,
DeleteYours is the second comment I've gotten to this effect, which usually means that there are others who feel the same, so I've added this information to the bottom of the devotion to explain:
Some people teach that jealousy is fear you'll lose something you have and envy is wanting something you don't have. However, the two words historically have been used as synonyms in conversation and Scripture, and the Merriam Webster Dictionary does not make this distinction between the words. This is also true in the Hebrew and Greek. Some words are best translated jealousy or envy and other words can be translated either way. From my limited study, it appears that jealousy may be used in Scripture as a more active or angry form of envy.
Whatever your definitions, this devotion addresses both the sinful from of jealousy and the sin of envy.
Proverb 14: 30. Telling us that envy rots the bone
ReplyDelete