Thirteen
Nothing To Be Jealous Of
PROVERBS 3:31
Do not resentfully envy and be jealous of an unscrupulous, grasping man, and choose none of his ways.
Have you ever been jealous of someone? Maybe it was their nice car, new promotion, good looks, or great grades that made you feel as if they were better than you or they deserved it more. Maybe you even thought if anybody deserved those gifts it was you. We have all felt like that at some point in our lives. Too often do we shift focus from what God has blessed us with to what others have. We think about what we lack more than what we’ve been given by God. Have you ever thought about what makes everybody different?
Your life includes obstacles that are too difficult for others to handle. You are too strong to have their small obstacles. The harder the fight is, the bigger the reward is on the other side. God knows that. He gave you large obstacles because there are huge blessings on the other side. You are equipped. God has favored you and given you strength you will find nowhere else. He picked you to be up for these challenges. Not somebody else. No, He chose you to live this life.
Nobody else is allowed to have what you have, both the challenges and the gifts. What works for others may not work for you, too. God has purposefully given you each gift and challenge to you specifically for a reason. Likewise, others may have other talents or abilities that suit God’s plan for them and not you. We are all made differently, and given different gifts and talents. So, why should we care about if someone else seems to have more than us?
In God’s eyes, we are all equal, so no amount of fancy clothes, jobs, money, or sport cars can change that. What makes us jealous? Well, we are selfish and our minds trick us into thinking every prize or award belongs to us, making us forget all the things that we actually do have. Jealousy often leads to self-pity.
We think everyone has it all put together and everything comes to them easily, while we sit and wait for God to finally do something good in our lives too. But the great thing to know is God is working harder for you specifically because He knows your needs and wants to outdo your expectations. He is giving you something better than you’ve ever even asked for. Don’t get upset if you can’t afford as many expensive, materialistic items. The greatest gifts are those given by God: life, love, kindness, redemption, salvation, restoration, healing, blessings, talents, abilities, the list never ends.
Nobody is a better you than you. That means there is no point in engaging in jealous feelings towards someone else. No matter how many materialistic prizes they receive, they will never be able to have the true prizes hidden inside your heart! Remember that material items break and scratch, but the treasure inside of you only shines brighter each day. Your life is a gift from Jesus Christ—embrace it, don’t wish you were someone else! It may seem like they have it all, but we don’t see the inside. Everyone is broken; everyone has problems; everyone needs God.
Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and thank God for the hidden treasures He buried within you, and for making you wonderfully and fearfully. Exodus 20:17 warns, “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.” God gives us each different things—whether it be abilities, talents, skills, houses, or cars—for His own purposes, which surpass our limited understanding. There is a reason why I have different things than you, and vise versa. There is no “better” thing to receive; therefore nothing is worthy of becoming jealous of. Trust that God is giving you all the right preparation for your journey ahead.
James 4:1-2 says, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. “ Instead of asking God for what we want, we envy what others have. Of course, nothing good comes as a result from this.
Jesus so clearly warns us of becoming violent and self-destructive through envying our neighbors. Instead, we should realize we have everything we need: God. If we have Him in our hearts, there is nothing worth worrying about. No amount of money can buy God. The world can be taken away from us and we would still have everything we need: Jesus. People take everything else from you, but nobody has the power to take your Lord from you; He lives inside your heart. We have to invite Him into our heart—He will gladly enter—and turn us away from our jealous, bitter ways. Understand today that the only thing in existence that is worth fighting for is your faith.
Stop questioning why God gave them that promotion and not you. He has something better in store for you. Thank Him for not granting you that new house your friend got. Don’t get jealous of others. Their gifts and possessions don’t even compare to what God is going to give you.
Romans 12:2 says “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” We should not serve the world, but instead focus all our energy towards serving the One who created it. Additionally, we should avoid copying other people and their ways. Instead, copy how God is.
Allow God to shift you and make you the person He created you to be. God has different wills for all of us. They important things if for His will to be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Focus your mind on His righteousness, and He will shift those envious thoughts away and replace them with pure, innocent ones. Jealousy can erupt from thinking someone else has better things or a better life, but by asking God to renew our thoughts and give us His mind, we can be freed from that mindset.
Romans 13:13 reminds us to “Walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.” With envy comes a feeling of separation from God, which results in strains on your heart and His. Even thought you can never be separated from God because He lives within you, envy gradually tears down the priceless relationship with God you are blessed to have. Walking with an envious attitude, like everyone else has it better off, will only lead to destruction.
This is something we need to understand before it’s too late. We can say we are true Christians all we want, but if “secretly”—acting as if God can’t see us—walk around wishing to be someone else, have what they have, be as successful as the boss, we won’t go too far. God grieves and can’t give us His hand of blessings when we do this, because our jealousy distances us from Him. It is like an ungrateful child, mumbling and barely getting by without complaining all day—complaining about their clothes, looks, or living conditions. We cannot live like this anymore. We cannot keep grieving our Father—He created us in His image and gave us the priceless gift of true life that nobody can take away from us—a life of perfection in Heaven, seeing Him face to face for eternity, basking in His glowing peace. This is all just a test of faith—will you trust that God has made you the way you are for a reason and know that you are a special individual, worthy of His love, and worthy of doing great things to honor Him?
James 3:16 says, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.” Nothing good comes from envying others. It results in self-destruction and disrupts order in our lives. We suddenly cannot function as well because our thinking is not clear anymore. We are too focused on what others have and not being grateful for what we are given. God says “Well if you don’t want what I have to offer you than I just won’t give it to you.” He wants us to take everything He’s given us and use it to glorify Him, not complain about it.
Proverbs 14:30 says, “A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.” We accomplish so much more when we are calm, peaceful, and listen to God’s voice whispering in our ears. However, when we ignore His voice and focus all of our thought and energy on what other people have, we suddenly try to fill that void in our hearts with the desire to be like someone else, instead of asking God to live inside of us and fill those voids. Sooner or later, you will start to see yourself feeling worse, empty, and like nothing is ever good enough—compared to what someone else might have in their life. We need to keep our eyes, mind, souls, and body focused on God and His greatness—He’s done so many great things for us, and He is just getting started. Submit to Him, and ask Him to give your heart peace like a river.
Faith Reminder
Even though it is tempting, try your best to not compare yourself with others and what they have. We have all been jealous one time or another, but it is important to remember the gifts God has given you and the treasure hidden under your heart that hasn’t even been revealed to you yet. Don’t worry about what anyone else has because it doesn’t compare to what God is about to grant you.