JEALOUSY – A DESTROYER OF THE FULFILLMENT OF LIVING AS A CHRISTIAN

BIBLE PASSAGE:
Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal 
life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 
(John 4:36)

MEDITATION:
“Jealousy” is an emotion, and not a very good one to have.
The word generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, 
fear, concern, and envy over the lack of possessions, status, 
or something of great personal value.
It can include one or more emotions 
such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgust.

We can see why the Lord does not want jealousy to exist in followers of Christ.
It is an indicator that we have not allowed the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ 
to permeate our being, and we are still holding on to one ‘act of the flesh’.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and 
debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, JEALOUSY, fits of rage, 
selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and 
the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will 
not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)

When we surrender to the Lord, we would like to think 
that jealousy would disappear, but it, like other ‘old things’, 
can hang around if we are not careful. 
It is one of the many weapons used by Satan to destroy our joy and happiness.
Jealousy can be a silent killer of our opportunities to show others 
that our faith is real by the way we live (and in particular, our attitudes).
We may think our jealousy is disguised, 
but others can still detect its existence.

Look at how the Jews were jealous of Paul 
when they saw many people gathering to hear him share the ‘word of the Lord’.
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the 
Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They 
began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him. 
(Acts 13:44-45)

Their jealousy was manifested through their attempts to discourage Paul,
and cause problems for him while he was obediently serving the Lord.
When they contradicted Paul, they were also discrediting God’s Word.
And if that was not enough to satisfy them, they ‘heaped abuse on him’ as well.
More than likely they were gossiping (possibly including lies),
and pointing out every flaw they could find in him.

They may have even tried to convince others to ignore him 
due to his “pre-salvation” past, when he was persecuting the Christians.
Instead of enjoying how crowds gathered to hear the word of the Lord,
they allowed their jealousy to take them in a direction that pleased Satan.

ACTION:
Jesus tells us that we all have been given specific tasks 
for contributing to His ministry of reaching the lost.
You may have a desire to be a great orator of God’s Word, 
or maybe you would like to have a great voice so you could 
sing praises to the Lord as a way of pointing others to Him.

However, we have to remember to put aside our ‘wants’, 
and to use what God has given specifically to us for serving Him.
Rather than allowing Satan to fill our mind with jealous thoughts, 
we should enjoy watching others use the spiritual gift(s) God has given them.
When we do not, we fail to ‘be glad together’ 
with others who are serving Him.

Jealousy can become an emotional cancer in us...if we allow it to remain.
And when it does remain, we can become detrimental to, not only someone 
who is using their gift(s), but also to the Lord’s effort of reaching 
those who are destined to an eternity separated from Him.

Our gift(s) may be less visible 
whenever we are ‘sowing’ the seeds of salvation.
However, when those seeds are watered and grow into a harvest of the lost,
we can rejoice in knowing that without the sowing of a seed, 
there would be no reaping of the harvest.
Regardless of who is involved in the reaping (which is ultimately the Lord), 
the harvest confirms our faithfulness in sowing. 

Instead of allowing jealousy to cause resentment in us (directed toward others 
serving the Lord), we should be thankful that the Lord values us enough to 
provide us with a gift to use when participating as part of His ministry ‘team’. 
Jealousy can cause us to be discouragers, but absence of jealousy and envy 
can mold us into people who enjoy encouraging others as they serve the Lord.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me for allowing jealousy to prevent me 
from rejoicing with others who are serving You. Help me to embrace 
and use the spiritual gift You have given me, instead of focusing on 
other gifts that I would like to have. Show me how to effectively use 
what You have given me, and teach me how to encourage others as 
they use what You have given them.”

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