jealousy

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Psalm 73:2-3 Are You Stumbling In Envy?

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Psalm 73:2-3

All over the world people everywhere desire the wealth and prosperity of others. Jealousy and envy reign in the hearts of men and women over what others have physically or have succeeded in. This occurs regardless of how much a person already has, people want more than what they have and at least as much as what someone else may have.

Asaph admits that he had almost stumbled in the sin of envy when he was envious of what he saw the boastful wicked had in their prosperity.

As a whole, people all over the world desire to have more and more physical stuff and prosperity in every area of their lives. It does not matter how much they have or how successful they are, they want more. And how they get it really does not matter. The world does not care about sinful manners of accumulating wealth and prosperity.

It is easy for people to get envious of what others have in their desire for more. And the world does not see the envy as something bad.

In the same way the world desires prosperity of others, many believers fall into the same trap of that same desire. Believers, who are walking uprightly before God, will often not have the same prosperity as the world does. Then they get envious of what they do not have. It becomes about self and is sinful.

Every believer must watch one’s attitude about the prosperity of others. One must see and recognize the prosperity God has given and live in that; not what others have. Being grateful for what God has given will remove the envy of what others have.

Regardless of what you have or how successful you have been, there is probably someone else who has more and is more successful than you. Do not allow the ways of the world to infiltrate your mind and cause you to be envious of the success and prosperity of others.

God has already blessed you more than the world can offer. Your sins have been forgiven and you have been given eternal life, things the world will never know nor have. Rejoice in your blessings and don’t be envious of others.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will recognize the blessings God has given you; that God will help you remove envy from your heart and mind; and that you will rejoice in the blessings of God.

Picture by Jimming Pan on Unsplash

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Psalm 20:5 Rejoicing At Another’s Salvation

We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. Psalm 20:5

Watching another person succeed is often difficult for many people. They get jealous at the idea that someone else succeeded and had things go better for them than for themselves. Most people want to be the one who succeeds or is the best at something, rather than seeing someone else have that spot.

David says that he, and those with him, rejoice at the salvation someone else has and that prays that God will fulfill all of their requests.

The world is completely all about self and what one can get and be. Having this type of mindset is what sin is completely all about. It began with Adam and Eve wanting to taste something they were not to eat and to have knowledge that they were not to have, just so they could be like God.

Inside the church, there are many who also have this same mindset as the world. Someone sees God answering the prayers of someone else and that person gets very jealous. Many struggle at rejoicing at God’s answering another’s prayers because God does not appear to answer their own prayers in the way that they want.

Jealousy is a sin that God hates. Instead of being jealous, believers need to rejoice that God has saved someone else by meeting their need or request. This request may be for the forgiveness of sins to be saved, or it may be to be freed or saved in some other difficult situation in their life. Salvation is being saved from something bad, whether from sin, or some problem in life.

In the same way Jesus petitions the Father for all believers, believers must be willing to petition and rejoice for other believers whose needs are met by God.

At some point in your life God has met a need of yours that you asked Him for help in. During that time you rejoiced. Now when you see another believer get blessed by God and saved in some difficult situation, rejoice and be glad for that person.

Instead of looking only to yourself, look to the needs of others. Pray that God will hear their prayers, meet their needs and rejoice when He does.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will rejoice when God meets the needs of others; that you will seek God for the good of others; that God will help you overcome any jealousy; and that God will also meet all of your needs.

Picture by Todd Trapani on Unsplash

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1 Samuel 19:10 Jealousy Kills

Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape. 1 Samuel 19:10

During times of extreme jealousy, people will try to destroy the one they are jealous of. Feelings that if one cannot have what he desires, then no one should be able to have it.

The world pushes people to desire and want things that someone else has. If one does not have it, he does not have life or happiness as he deserves.

Saul was jealous of David getting credit for killing more Philistines than he did. Saul tried to kill David with his spear, but David was able to get away.

Jealousy refuses to trust that God has given a person just what he needs. It is believing that he deserves something someone has and cause him to do whatever it takes to get it or destroy the other person.

Although most people will never try to physically kill another person over jealousy, many will try to destroy the person’s reputation or joy in what he has. Believers will try to make the person appear to be greedy and selfish because he has something desired.

Among the sins that God lists throughout the Bible, jealousy is one of them. As a sin it brings about destruction. It begins by bringing about the destruction of good relationships. Then it raises up unwarranted anger, causing the breakdown of anything good. In the end sin brings about death–death of relationships and death of the soul–God’s judgement.

Rather than being jealous, a believer should rejoice in what God has blessed someone else with. He must trust God for what God has blessed himself with and remove all jealousy from his heart.

Do not allow jealousy to fill your heart with rage and destroy all that is good in your life. Be willing to bless others more and more rather than tear them down out of a jealous heart.

Look at what God has blessed you with and realize that there are many things that you have that others do not have, just as others have things that you do not have. God will abundantly provide all that you need and more. You do not need what others may have.

Rejoice with others instead of bringing death and killing of good things.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that God will reveal any jealousy in your heart; that you will recognize how great God has blessed you; and that you will rejoice in how God is blessing others.

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1 Samuel 18:8 Allowing Jealousy To Set In

Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” 1 Samuel 18:8

Watching someone succeed faster and better than oneself will often bring on a rise of jealousy. People do not always like to see someone else be more successful than themselves. They want what the other person has.

The world often believes that they deserve the highest praise and honor, not the other person. Fear of the successful person will often follow feelings of jealousy.

David had been credited with killing tens of thousands, while Saul was only credited with thousands. Saul became angry and jealous and felt that David was now after the throne.

Being jealous is something that the world sees as a right of a person. Everyone deserves what the other person has. The world does not believe that one person should have more than any other person.

Jealousy can also be found in the church among believers. Some are jealous over the ministry of another. Others are jealous because they get their way in how things are done. Still others are jealous because of how God is working miracles through a person.

God is the only One who deserves to be jealous because He created everything and owns everything. Mankind was created by God and does not have a right to be jealous about anyone.

Being jealous puts one on the throne and removes God from that position. It places himself above God and all others.

Instead of being jealous, believers are to build others up and give God glory for the success of others. They are to praise God when He blesses others, rather than become jealous and angry of their success.

Most likely there is someone in your life who is more successful than you. They appear to have more blessings than you have.

Do not allow jealousy to set in and cause you to get angry and sin against God. Take a moment to look at how much God is blessing you. Count your blessings rather than the blessings of someone else or to count what you do not have.

God has forgiven you and given you life when you deserved death. What more do you need?

Focus on what God has given you and keep jealousy out of your life.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will see what God has blessed you with; that God will reveal any jealousy in your heart; that God will strengthen you to remove any jealous thoughts; and that you will trust how God blesses yourself and others.

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Deuteronomy 26:11 Are You Rejoicing In Your Blessings?

Then you and the Levites and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given you and your household. Deuteronomy 26:11

Everyone has different things in their household. Some have a lot of things, while others not as much. Some will have very high dollar things, while others have things that don’t cost very much.

Being grateful for what one has is not always very common. Many are looking at what others have that they do not have and are complaining and grumbling about what they do not have.

Moses told the Israelites along with the foreigners to rejoice in the good things God had given them.

It is easy for a person to look at the faults of what he has and complain about them. One can also look at what he does not have and feels he needs and complain about the lack.

No matter how much a person has, people tend to want even more. They want the newer, the better or fancier things that they do not have, rather than being grateful with what God has given them.

Believers can fall into this same trap of being ungrateful as the world lives in. Instead of being grateful for what God has blessed them with, many believers are complaining and begging God for more. It is ignoring all the things God has already given and allowing pride, jealousy and greed to set in.

If a person has food, clothing, shelter, forgiveness and salvation, he has all that he needs whether it is just a little or a lot of those things. Anything else acquired is an extra bonus blessing from God. Believers need to rejoice in what God has given, rather than ignoring what they have.

You may have a lot of things or a few things. You may have things you like and there are things you desire to have some day. Do not allow yourself to focus on what you do not have but put your focus on what God has already blessed you with.

As you rejoice in the blessings already given, you will see that you have all that you need and often more than you need. God will always provide what you need, which may be much or little, great or small.

Rejoice in God’s blessings instead of complaining about what the world has.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will see what God has blessed you with; that you will rejoice in what God has given you; and that you will be content with the blessings and provision of God in your life.