“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, but 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 to an individual. It can include one or more emotions
such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgust.
We can see why the Lord doesn’t want jealousy to exist in His followers.
Jealousy is an indicator that we haven’t allowed the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ to
permeate our lives, and we are still holding on to at least 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
drop our guard and get overconfident about our spirituality. It is one
of the many weapons used by Satan to destroy our joy, our happiness,
and our good relationships with others.
Jealousy can be a silent killer of our opportunities to show others (and
ourselves) that our faith is real by the way we live (and especially in our
attitudes). We may think our jealousy is disguised, but even though they
may not say or act differently, others can still detect its existence in us.
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, by causing 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. We can guess that they were gossiping (probably 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’ life when he was persecuting the Christians. Instead
of enjoying how crowds gathered to hear the word of the Lord, they
allowed their jealousy to control them, which was pleasing to Satan.
ACTION:
Jesus tells us we have all been given specific tasks for contributing
to His ministry of reaching the lost. Some are “sowers” and some
are “reapers”, but we should “be glad together” that we are a ‘team’
of servants for the Lord.
We may have a desire to be a great orator of God’s Word, or maybe
we would like to have a great voice so we could sing praises to the
Lord as a way of pointing others to Him. However, we need to know
that we must put aside our ‘wants’, and use what God has given to
each of us (our spiritual gifts) to be used in serving Him.
Sometimes God gives us a special talent, but He also gives us a special
spiritual gift; we should not assume our talent is our spiritual gift and
miss out on discovering what God has given us to use in serving Him,
encouraging other believers and reaching the lost.
Rather than allowing Satan to fill our mind with jealous thoughts, we
should enjoy observing others use the spiritual gift(s) God has given
them. When we are jealous instead of being grateful for how the Lord
is using others, we will fail at ‘being glad together’ and enjoying our
fellowship with other believers who are serving Him.
Jealousy can become an emotional cancer in us, if we allow it to remain.
And if it does remain, we can become detrimental to, not only someone
who is using their spiritual gift(s), but also to the Lord’s effort of saving
those who are destined to be eternally separated from Him.
Our own gift(s) may be less visible than others 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 our sowing of the
seed was a contributor to the reaping of the harvest. Regardless of who is
involved in the reaping (which is ultimately the Lord Himself), the harvest
confirms the value of our faithfulness in sowing.
Instead of allowing jealousy to cause resentment in us (directed toward
others who are 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 transform us into people who enjoy encouraging others as they serve
the Lord. So, we should ask ourselves,
“Do I encourage others who are actively serving the Lord?”
“Can I recall a time when I have encouraged a servant of the Lord?”
“How often do I encourage those serving the Lord?”
“If I am not an encourager, then
what fruit of the Spirit is missing in me?”
“Am I allowing my selfishness or egotism to prevent me
from obeying God’s instructions to encourage others?”
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the
same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so
that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Romans 15:5-6)
Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration,
encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the
God of love and peace will be with you.
(2 Corinthians 13:11)
Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with
Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the
Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete
by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and
of one mind.
(Philippians 2:1-2)
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, Who loved
us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope,
encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
(2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)
These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage
and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
(Titus 2:15)
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,”
so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
(Hebrews 3:13)
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me for allowing jealousy
to prevent me from rejoicing with others who are
serving You. Help me to embrace the spiritual gift
You have given me. Teach me to use it for Your glory,
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 the value of encouraging those
who are using what You have given them.”
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