Facing the Giant of Jealousy
Selected Scriptures
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In this lesson we learn where to look for jealousy and how to defeat it.
OVERVIEW
An ancient Greek legend sets the stage for our final lesson in which we confront and learn to defeat the giant of jealousy. It seems a young Greek athlete ran in a race and placed second. In honor of the winner his village erected a large statue in the town square. Envy and jealousy attacked the runner who came in second to the degree that he made plans to destroy the statue. Each night, under cover of darkness, he went out and chipped away at the foundation of the statue, expecting it to fall on its own some day. One night, however, he chipped too much. The statue’s weakened base began to crack until it popped. The huge marble statue came down upon the disgruntled athlete. He died under the crushing weight of the one he had come to hate.
The truth is he died long before the statue fell on him. In giving up his heart to envy and jealousy he had ceased to live for himself. He became a slave to the giant of jealousy. His heart had become a picture of the Greek word “envy,” which means “to boil within.”
Shakespeare called jealousy the green sickness. To be jealous means to strike out at what somebody else is or what somebody else has. Whereas Scripture says that we are to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, the jealous person does the opposite. He rejoices when others weep, and weeps when others rejoice. Another’s setback is his opportunity for advancement; another’s sorrow his chance to gain the ascendancy. When the person of whom he is jealous is successful, he turns green with envy. When that person experiences failure, he flushes with the chance to make up lost ground.
Jealousy can eat away at one’s insides as Proverbs suggests (Proverbs 14:30). No giant is more destructive to self and to relationships than the giant of jealousy and envy. To close our study without conquering this giant would leave one vulnerable. Why leave alive the one giant that can erode the peace and joy gained by conquering all of the others?
Jealousy Travels in Circles
Jealousy makes its way through a number of networks, or circles, that we each travel in. To be aware of its favorite pathways is to be forearmed against its power.
Jealousy Travels in Proprietary Circles
Jealousy is found in the arena of possessions and wealth. For instance, Genesis 26:13–14 describes the wealth Isaac accumulated and how the Philistines “envied him.” Isaac’s possessions are mentioned three times so we know he had accumulated quite a lot. And though the Philistines were wealthy sea-faring traders, they still envied what Isaac had. Jealousy can easily get a foothold among the wealthy. It’s easy to want just a little bit more than we already have.
To be sure, it is possible to have wealth and not envy what anyone else has. God has blessed many Christians with significant wealth and many of them have learned to live with gratitude toward God instead of envy toward others. But generally speaking, jealousy and envy have an easy time stirring up trouble in the circles of the wealthy.
Jealousy Travels in Power Circles
Not only does wealth envy wealth, but power envies power. Miriam and Aaron were jealous of Moses’ power and position among the people (Numbers 12:1 ff.), as was Korah (Numbers 16:1 ff.). In the books of Kings and Chronicles we read story after story of kings who usurped the power of other kings, often by criminal and traitorous acts, only to have the same thing happen to them once they reached the pinnacle of power. History is littered with the ruins of nations whose leaders, motivated by jealousy and envy, led them to war.
In the four gospels and the book of Acts we read where the Jewish leaders were jealous of Jesus’ power and influence among the people, and later that of His apostles. They crucified Jesus and threw His apostles into jail—and worse (Acts 7:54–8:1)—in part on the basis of jealousy and fear that their own power-base was eroding.
Power circles can be a breeding ground for jealousy in the business world—and even in the church. Whose organization is biggest? Who’s getting the most media attention? Who has the most employees? Power can promote jealousy among those who have it.
Jealousy Travels in Performance Circles
If there is a circle where Christians are most vulnerable, this is probably it—individually and corporately. Remember the story in the Old Testament of Saul and David? David became the young hero in Israel after he slew the Philistine giant, Goliath. The green sickness of jealousy began to grow in Saul’s heart as he saw the hearts of Israel go out to David. Saul spent the rest of his life trying to eliminate the object of his jealousy, tracking David all over the Judean wilderness trying to kill him. He remained a captive to his jealousy until he died.
The local church, I am ashamed to say, is a place where jealousy lurks, waiting for a chance to attack. Perhaps it is because the church is a “volunteer” organization. People give their money and “volunteer” their time and, as a result, feel they are entitled to certain things—sing a solo, chair a committee, receive recognition when those roles, responsibilities, and recognition are given to others. How subtle and insidious the enemy is to stir up jealousy and envy in our midst, and how naïve we are to succumb to it!
Every Christian needs to remind himself that we who are saved by the grace and mercy of God have given up all our personal rights. For us to think we deserve something that Christ has given to another is to contradict the love we say we have for Him. The church of Jesus Christ is the last place the giant of jealousy should ever find a home.
Jealousy Travels in Professional Circles
An amazing example of envy occurred once when Paul was incarcerated for preaching the gospel. While he was in jail, others were taking advantage of his imprisonment and preaching the gospel hoping to gain for themselves some of the attention Paul had received (Philippians 1:15–16). And Paul had an interesting response. He said that even though others were preaching the gospel using envy as a motive (some were also preaching from proper motives), he took comfort knowing that the gospel was being proclaimed. He didn’t respond angrily or out of resentment which would have revealed jealousy in his own life—that others were gathering to themselves “fame” which was rightly his. He was content to sit in his jail cell and allow God to sort out the motives in men’s hearts. He was simply happy that the gospel was being preached.
Jealousy Travels in Personal Circles
We may not be wealthy or powerful, have roles to perform or other professionals to compete with—but we are all people. And unfortunately, jealousy shows up most often in the relationships we have with other people just like ourselves. This is probably where we see it the most and certainly where we see it the most in the Bible. In the Old Testament, Cain was jealous of Abel, Ishmael was jealous of Isaac, and Jacob and Esau were jealous of each other. And Joseph’s brothers were so envious of him that they sold him into slavery. In the New Testament, the prodigal son story gives us a sad illustration of jealousy (Luke 15:11–32). We are often so involved in focusing on the prodigal and his return to the father that we miss the burning jealousy of the older brother. He was incensed that his father had never rewarded him for his faithfulness and obedience, and here the prodigal was being welcomed home like a hero. His jealousy had blinded his eyes to his own Pharisee-like misunderstanding of love and grace.
When jealousy comes in the front door, love goes out the back door. The two cannot coexist in the same person. Rest assured that if you are struggling with jealousy you are also struggling with love.
Before looking at the characteristics of jealousy, it is important to remember that jealousy will most likely raise its head in the circles in which one travels. As a pastor and preacher, I am not jealous of athletes, plumbers, bank presidents, or shop owners, as much as I admire and respect what they do. My temptations with jealousy are going to arise in the circles in which I travel, and they will most often for you as well.
This old fable well illustrates my point: The devil was crossing the Libyan desert when he came across a group of junior devils who were tempting a holy man. They tried to tempt him with the flesh, with doubts, with fear, with lies—nothing they did could induce the holy man to sin. The devil asked the juniors to step aside so that he might show them how to reach the old man. The devil leaned forward and whispered in the man’s ear, “Have you heard the news? Your brother has just been made Bishop of Alexandria.” With that, a cloud of jealousy clouded the now-not-so-holy man’s face—and the devil had him.
Be careful about becoming jealous in the circles in which you travel.
The Characteristics of Jealousy
Above all else, jealousy always does two things:
Jealousy Destroys Others
Cain killed Abel. Saul tried to kill David. Herod killed babies so King Jesus wouldn’t come to power in his realm. Envy and jealousy lead people to do unthinkable things to others. I recall reading a story a few years ago about a mother who killed a teenaged girl who was competing for a cheerleading spot that the woman wanted her daughter to win. Killing a child over jealousy regarding a cheerleading position!
But lest we presume ourselves immune from such acts, we need only remember the jealous thoughts we ourselves have had. Acts of jealousy begin with thoughts of jealousy.
Jealousy Destroys Ourselves
Remember in the book of Esther how Haman was hanged on the scaffold he had built for the object of his jealousy? And how those who threw Daniel in the lions den were the ones consumed? And how Joseph’s brothers ended up begging for food from the object of their jealousy? And how Saul was consumed by his jealousy while David content with his psalms? The jealous person is the one who ultimately suffers the most.
There is little argument that jealousy and envy are destructive attitudes. The question is, How do we conquer them?
Facing the Giant of Jealousy
Like many of the other giants we have covered in our study, jealousy falls into the category of personal choice. If we are jealous, it’s not because we were born with it or caught it like a cold. Therefore, our strategy for conquering jealousy is based on what it is: a sinful choice we make.
Renounce Jealousy as Sin
We read in the gospels that Jesus Christ was handed over and put to death because of envy (Matthew 27:18; Mark 15:10). Every time I begin to get comfortable accommodating jealousy and envy in my life I need to remember how sinful they are—sinful enough to have caused the death of the sinless Son of God. If those responsible for the death of Christ did so on the basis of sinful envy, why is my envy any less sinful than theirs? It is not. Envy and jealousy are the same in every human heart—sinful choices that we choose to indulge in and nurture.
First and foremost, jealousy must be renounced as sin.
Remember Your Rival in Prayer
If you are jealous of another person, the best thing to do is pray for that person and thank God for their success or good fortune or whatever it is you envy. A story is told about two famous preachers in London. F. B. Meyer was the older, established preacher and Charles Spurgeon was the younger, newer preacher in town. When Spurgeon became the toast of the town—he preached to tens of thousands on Sunday and the newspaper printed his sermons on the front page—Meyer began to envy him. But he immediately began to pray for his success. Soon, because of his partnership in prayer, Meyer was able to rejoice in the blessings of God upon Spurgeon. And his own church eventually benefited greatly from the upsurge in spiritual interest in London.
Pray for those for whom you feel the slightest twinge of envy.
Reaffirm God’s Goodness to You
Here is something important I have learned about jealousy: It is almost always because we don’t think God has been as good to us as we think He should have been. If we are jealous of another person, it is because we want the blessings God has given to him. We don’t understand why He has blessed them and not us, and we become jealous of what they have that we don’t have. The quickest way to put an end to that kind of thinking is to take an inventory of our own blessings.
If we have anything at all it is because we have been blessed. All we deserve is judgment. But all of us have far more than we deserve, and most of us have far more than we need. When we begin to thank God for all that He has blessed us with—stop right now and consider your blessings!—it will be hard to continue in a jealous frame of mind toward another. In the purposes of God, how could we possibly be jealous of what He has done for another when He has done so much for us? Thanksgiving will douse the spark of jealousy and fan the flames of gratitude every time.
Rekindle God’s Love in Your Heart
First Corinthians 13:4 holds the key to defeating the giant of jealousy: “Love does not envy.” Where love is, envy cannot abide. If envy marches in the front door, love will sweep it out the back door. If jealousy sneaks in the back, love will usher it out the front. The house of love has no room for jealousy to even visit, much less take up residence.
Rekindle God’s love by reading the Word and through prayer. Ask God to fill you with His Spirit whose fruit is love. Then act on those prayers by manifesting the love of God to any person toward whom you have felt envy or jealousy. Your walk must match your talk when it comes to love triumphing over jealousy.
My prayer for you as we conclude our study of spiritual giants is that Jesus Christ will be the only spiritual giant in your life. Where He is Lord and King there can be no fear, discouragement, loneliness, worry, guilt, temptation, anger, resentment, doubt, procrastination, permanent failure, or jealousy. Abide in Him, and let His Word abide in you, and you will walk in victory over every would-be giant you encounter.
APPLICATION
1. Record your insights on envy from the following verses in Proverbs:
a. 3:31
b. 6:34
c. 14:30
d. 23:17
e. 24:1
f. 24:19
g. 27:4
2. Read 2 Corinthians 11:1–4.
a. How does Paul introduce his discussion so his readers know he is engaging in a play on words? (verse 1)
b. How can jealousy be “godly?” (verse 2)
c. What is the situation which caused Paul to be “jealous” for the believers in Corinth? (verses 2–4)
d. How “jealous” does Paul appear to be in attempting to rescue the Corinthians from their apostolic “suitors?” (see the remainder of chapters 11 and 12)
e. Paul says that God is provoking Israel to jealousy by giving the blessings of the covenant to the Gentiles (Romans 10:19; 11:11). Since jealousy can have both a positive and a negative aspect, how do we tell whether our jealousy is sinful or not?
f. Have you ever experienced a godly kind of jealousy for a person or a cause?
g. What efforts did you make to “rescue” the object of your jealousy?
h. How were your efforts received?
i. What convinced you that your jealousy was legitimate?
3. With what does Paul lump envy in 1 Corinthians 3:3?
a. How does he characterize those who practice sinful envy?
b. How serious a sin does Paul make envy out to be in Galatians 5:19–21?
c. What kind of a “work” is envy? (Galatians 5:19)
d. Therefore, of whom is envy characteristic?
e. What are the characteristics in this list compared in Galatians 5:22–23?
f. Who produces the characteristics in this second list?
g. If a Christian engages in envy or jealousy, what might we say he is doing? (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19)
h. If a Christian is envious or jealous, what can we be sure he is NOT doing? (Galatians 5:25–26)
4. In what circles are you most likely to be tempted with envy or jealousy?
DID YOU KNOW?
There is a thin line between being “zealous” and being “jealous.” The former we think of as a positive thing, the latter as a negative. In truth, they both have roots in the same idea. The Greek work zelos (which may have derived from the verb zeo, to boil or be hot) meant fury or warmth or zeal. In other words, both the zealous and the jealous have a passion for the object of their zelos. A zealot could be passionate about a good thing or an evil thing; a jealous person could be jealous for godly or carnal reasons.
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