“A tranquil heart makes for a healthy body, but jealousy is like bone cancer.” (Proverbs 14:30).

When we are resting in Christ and trusting Him, we have peace.

I was reading Lamentations 3:17 one day: “My soul has been kept from enjoying peace, I have forgotten what happiness is.” And I realized that I did not have peace because my own worries and fears (my soul) were keeping me from rest. I was choosing not to trust Him but wanted to have some control over my environment to be content.

When we lack peace, it is our own sin – worry, fear, anxiety, anxiousness, control, anger, resentment/ unforgivenes, pride, and or jealousy that is keeping us from rest. We are not centered in Christ, but in our circumstances. When one is fully trusting in Christ, they are at rest and have peace.

David paints a picture of one trusting and resting contentedly in God in Psalm 131:
“O Yahweh, my heart is not conceited.
My eyes do not look down on others.
I am not involved in things too big or too difficult for me.
Instead, I have kept my soul calm and quiet.
My soul is content as a weaned child is content in its mother's arms.
Israel, put your hope in Yahweh now and forever.”

Over and over the word proclaims that the path to peace is found in trusting Christ and living fully in Him. Isaiah 26:3 says, You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

And Isaiah 32:17 says, “The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.”

When we are in Christ and trusting Him, He will lead us by His peace (Is. 55:12b). Our obedience in following His promptings and His word will bring a sense peace to us. Psalm 119:65 says, “Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing can make them stumble.” And Proverbs 3:2 says that by keeping His commands in mind, they “will bring us long life, good years and peace.”

As Proverbs notes, one thing that keeps us from a long life, good years and peace is jealousy. Envy destroys not only others around us, but ourselves. So what is jealousy? It is wanting something for oneself that is a blessing for someone else. Or possibly just not wanting someone to have the blessings God has for them.

There are many examples of envy in the Bible. The first one that comes to mind is the “older brother” in the parable of the prodigal son. When the prodigal son squandered all that he had and returned home, the older brother was furious because the father blessed the son as he returned by killing the fattened calf, putting sandals on his feet and a ring on his finger. His father reminds him that it is a wonderful thing that his brother returned home and that the older brother always had access to all that he owned. It wasn't really that the older brother really wanted the sandals and ring as much as he didn't feel his brother deserved them.

Another example is with Esau and Jacob. Jacob was jealous of Esau for his position in the family and stole his birthright and blessing from him. Esau on the other hand was jealous of Jacob for getting the birthright and stealing the blessing from him. He had so much envy that he plotted to kill his brother.

Joseph's brothers were still another example of envy. Joseph's brothers were envious that he was given special treatment by their father. But worse, Joseph then used his position of favor to get his brothers in trouble with their father. Joseph gave his father a bad report about them and made their lives difficult. His brothers were bitter about it and his grandiose dreams of being their ruler. Out of envy, they sold their brother into slavery.

Saul and David were yet another story of envy. Saul could see that David was highly gifted and God was giving him great favor. He saw the potential and the purposes of God in David. But rather than entering into those and partnering with God in His purposes, Saul chose to use all his energy to derail David out of fear and wanting to protect his position. Saul was invited into being a mentor to David (and he was for a period), but chose instead at some point self protection. Ultimately it filled him with hate and led him so far from God that he was even willing to slaughter all the priests. Jealousy destroyed Saul.

Jealousy is a very common trial. In the parable of the laborers, when God paid those who had come last, first, the people became jealous. They were mad that they had started laboring way before and were getting the same pay as those who came right at the end. God deals with it not by being 'fair' in the sight of man but asking them, “Do you begrudge my generosity?”

Bob Sorge in his book Envy, notes that these kind of situations which cause jealousy to arise test the boundaries of our love. [1] Do we ultimately see God's purposes as most important and do we swell with joy when someone gets ahead of us or is blessed in some way or do we become upset about it?  [2]  Do we secretly want to see them derailed?

If we are begrudging His generosity to someone we certainly cannot enter into the joy of His kingdom purposes for them or participate in bringing them forth. Envy ultimately, like with David, will not keep the other person from God's purposes, but, like with Saul, will keep us from our purposes in Him.

James 3:13-16 says, “Do any of you have wisdom and insight?  Show this by living the right way with the humility that comes from wisdom.   But if you are bitterly jealous and filled with self-centered ambition, don't brag.  Don't say that you are wise when it isn't true.   That kind of wisdom doesn't come from above.  It belongs to this world.  It is self-centered and demonic.  Wherever there is jealously and rivalry, there is disorder and every kind of evil."

Envy and self seeking are closely tied together. They are often grouped as one in the same because selfishness is at the root of envy.  Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:20, “For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.”

While envy and jealousy sound horrible, they often are not quickly or easily identified as such.  One reacts to a situation without realizing that they are acting out of envy.   Like in the cases from the bible, the situation often feels very unfair to the person who is jealous.  

They may have labored for years for something, being faithful and  paying the price in the heat of the day, but then see someone else come along and reap the same benefits.   Like the older brother, we may  feel mistreated and overlooked in the process. 

Or like with Joseph, someone throws us under the bus a few times and makes us look bad.  We resent them for it only to find God or someone else putting in our face that they are going to be promoted over us some day.   

Or like with Saul, we trained them up and developed them only to find that they are exceptionally talented and gifted.  So much so that we fade in the background as everyone acknowledges them.    We begin to realize that the only thing that is keeping us in our position is God and we put ourselves there by mentoring them. We now have the choice to trust God and continue to give out or to move into fear, insecurity and self protection.

Often envy has a sense of 'unfairness' and/or fear and self protection behind it.  In all these cases, one may easily feel justified when choosing envy because of the sense of unfairness and a 'need' to protect oneself from harm.  However, when someone chooses envy, they make a choice for wanting something over loving someone.   And It is our choices and resulting actions while we are in those situations that determine the fruit that results.  

Like with Saul, if we do not deal with our feelings of envy and jealousy, they may ultimately totally derail us (Romans 2:8).   Jesus told John's disciples in Luke 7:23, "Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me."   If we cannot get over ourselves and let Him lead, entering into His kingdom purposes, we will stumble in offense.  

Envy is also a derailer of revival according to Bob Sorge.  Envy in His people impedes the purposes of God. [3]  And he notes when revival comes and God's demonstrates His power and glory, inverably envy also comes to derail things. [4] 

I love God's continued gentle invention to repent, trust Him and labor with Him rather than against Him.   He invites us into the path of greater life, by surrendering those things we seek after and coming more alive to His purposes.  As we let go of envy, we can get a hold of God's purposes and see our own purposes in it. 

This happened with me (envy). What I didn't realize was that at the root of it was envy because I was holding onto a grudge.    At one point I had a dream.  While I don't know for certain that the dream was from God, I began to see His greater purposes from it.  I realized God was inviting me to be His friend and partner with Him in seeing His purposes come forth for this person.  It was such an honor for Him to share His heart for someone else with me.  To be His friend is greater than anything else He could offer us. 

As I began to pray for this person in what I felt God had for them, I found the grudge eventually went away.   And rather than wanting "something" for myself,  I  deeply wanted what God had for this person.  I also could then begin to see His purposes for me in all of it.   He hadn't forgotten about me or disregarded me.  It was in His greater purposes that my purpose is fulfilled.   He is truly a God of abundance and not one of scarcity where one receives and another lacks.

Lord, forgive me for my struggles with envy.  I am devastated with how I can struggle with it and not even realize it as I justify myself.   Help me to be quicker at identifying envy and jealousy in my heart and repent.  

Let us be people who trust You, see and enter into Your purposes above all else, and live freely in Your love and peace. 

1-4.  Sorge, Bob.  Envy: The Enemy Within.   Regal Books, Ventura, CA.  2003