ENVY

I can distinctly remember the first time I felt envy. I was about five years old and was incredibly envious of my neighbor friend who had a pair of high heels. Envy is the desire to have a quality, possession, or other desirable attribute belonging to (someone else).

As I look back over my life and career I can see the times jealousy and envy wreaked havoc on me. One of the biggest areas I fell trap to was envy against the men I worked with and the “assumed” salary divide between us. My bad attitude consumed me.

I’ve been studying the books of Samuel for several weeks now. Boy was Saul envious of David! He was so jealous he wanted to kill David! You may think that is extreme but it still happens today! And there are so many ways envy creeps in on us. Promotions, possessions, abilities, talents, relationships, finances, body images, likes on Facebook. The list goes on. If we aren’t careful these “feelings” can create major distractions in our lives.

How does God view envy? James tells us in chapter 4:2-3, “You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.” Bottom line – envy is a sin. Envy in our hearts signifies we aren’t satisfied with what God has given us and that we are focused only on ourselves. Big picture moment! Envy separates us from our Father. I didn’t say it may….it does! Envy sucks our energy and leaves us feeling empty, depressed and miserable. “It rots our bones.”

Be grateful for what God has given you. Turn your eyes upon Jesus Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to produce fruit. Take a few minutes today and reflect. Pray that God will reveal any envy in your heart so that you can repent and draw closer to Him.

If you want to go deeper, write these scriptures down and read them over the next few days. #itsallintheBible

1 Samuel 18

Proverbs 14:30

Mark 7:21-22

Romans 12:2

Galatians 5:22-23

James 3:14-16

James 4:2-5

1 Peter 2:1-2

Love you all & happy Friday!

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