we’re in this series on what is love? the most common destroyer of friendships is not anger, it’s not impatience, it’s not apathy, and it’s not unkindness. it’s envy. and 1 corinthians 13:4b (niv) says, 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 (niv), it says, wherever there is envy you’ll find every kind of evil. here is a short list of problems that envy can cause.
- anorexia: people starve themselves because they envy skinny people
- adultery: people envy somebody else, their spouse, so they steal them.
- bitterness: you resent people who have done 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 about them behind their back.
- insecurity, judgmentalism.
- manipulating: it causes us to scheme and want to get our own way.
- the bible says that envy can cause murder – in fact the very first murder was between cain and abel. the first homicide.
- obsession: envy can cause you to obsess over a thing or over an event.
- 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 (niv) 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 by sibling rivalry. 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.
just a thought from the front porch…
2 comments:
Too simplistic. I think we have evoled as humans to understand that life, behavior and beliefs are too complicated to narrow it down to one type of behavior. Can we instantly ride a bike when we begin to learn? Can a child understand a parent's favoritism toward a sibling? Acceptance, Affection, and Appreciation toward our children will teach them much.
well, i happen to think that life is pretty simple. it is self-centered people who make it comp-licated. and people have evolved into thinking that they are so important.
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