|
Envy |
|
What is
envy? According to the Oxford Dictionary envy is a ‘discontented or resentful
longing aroused by another’s possessions, qualities, or luck’. The Holy
Scripture states that “for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied
by his neighbour” (Ecclesiastes 4:4 – NKJV), and this is confirmed by the
following incident written in the Scripture: “Then Isaac sowed in that land,
and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. And
the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of
servants: and the Philistines envied him. For all the wells which his
father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the
Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth” (Genesis 26:12-15).
|
|
Wisdom
says that “envy is rottenness to the bones” (Proverbs |
|
Why should
we avoid being envious of a brother, if he is successful in his work or God
answers his prayer or he is successful in the ministry God has given him?
Because we are members of one another and we form one body. Let us suppose
that someone compliments you on the beauty of your eyes and your arm is
annoyed for the compliments received by your eyes, or that a member of your
body is angry and hates another member of your body because it has a
different function, what would you think? Would you not think that some of
your members are walking in an unworthy manner. Likewise, those who are
envious of other brothers, do not conduct themselves in a manner worthy of
the Gospel of Christ. |
|
Paul says
that “if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Corinthians
|
|
Obviously,
there are some who don’t heed the Word of God and, being full of envy, rise
up against some brothers because they see that God is with them and honor
them in a particular ministry, but these people don’t walk in a manner worthy
of the Gospel, for they lead a disorderly life and in due season the Lord
will repay them according to their works. |
|
Bear in
mind always that those who are envious of another person conduct themselves
badly toward that person who is envied by them, for envy only leads to evil,
this is confirmed by the conduct of the Philistines toward Isaac, for – as we
saw before – the Scripture says that they stopped up all the wells which his
father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father and they filled
them with earth. But there are other passages of the Scripture which confirm
this, here they are. |
|
●
“And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into |
|
●
“They envied Moses in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the Lord” (Psalm
106:16 – NKJV); these words refer to Korah, Dathan and Abiram and to other
Israelites who gathered together against Moses and Aaron accusing them of
exalting themselves above the assembly of the Lord (Numbers 16:1-3). |
|
●
“Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him (which is the
sect of the Sadducees) and were filled with envy, and laid their hands on the
apostles, and put them in the common prison” (Acts |
|
●
“On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of
God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and
contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul” (Acts |
|
However,
we must not be envious only of the righteous who are blessed by God, but also
of the wicked who prosper, for the Scripture says: “Do not fret because of
evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity” (Psalm 37:1 – NKJV),
and again: “Do not let your heart envy sinners” (Proverbs 23:17 – NKJV). The
reason is always the same, because it leads only to evil. |