DANGERS OF ENVY I
Memorise: A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the
rottenness of the bones. - Proverbs
14:30
Read: Genesis 4:3-8 (KJV)
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit
of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the
fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was
very wroth, and his countenance fell.
6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy
countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not
well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt
rule over him.
8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they
were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
Bible in One Year: Deuteronomy
8-9; Ephesians 3
From Proverbs 3:31-33 we understand that oppressors should not be
envied, because there is a divine curse on their households. If you envy an
unbeliever for any reason, you may be attracting the curse on such a fellow to
yourself. Furthermore, Psalm
37:1-2 admonishes us to look beyond the
material blessings of sinners, as they are heading for a tragic end. Besides
not envying sinners, Galatians 5:26 makes it clear that it is equally wrong to envy
one another. Envy is dangerous, because it can trigger a chain of negative
events in the life of the envious. If there is envy in the heart of a person
and it is not dealt with, it can lead to murder, as was the case with Cain.
Cain and his younger brother, Abel, offered up sacrifices before God. While
Abel's offering was accepted, Cain's offering was rejected. Instead of going
back to God to find out what he did wrong, or going to his brother to find out
what he did right, so that he could adjust and offer an acceptable sacrifice,
he took the mean option of giving room to envy. He nursed envy in his heart
until the day they had a quarrel over some other issue. On this day, he hit his
brother so hard that he died. Envy leads to murder. If you are envious, a seed
that can grow into murder is already in your heart.
Similarly, in Genesis 37, we see how Joseph's brothers were taken over by
envy. They envied him because he was their father's favourite son. This they
did instead of finding out what they could do to make them partake of their
father's favour. When Joseph had a set of dreams revealing a great future
ahead, they envied him the more. Envy made them forget that Joseph was their
younger brother and of the same blood with them. Envy affected their reasoning
to a point where they became very irrational. Come to think of it, if their
younger brother's dreams of greatness were realised, would it not positively
affect their position in several ways? This should have made them encourage him
to fulfil his destiny, so that they could become co-beneficiaries. Instead of
this, envy poisoned their hearts against their own blood and got them to take up
the assignment of killing his dream. Are you envious of anyone? Are you out to
kill other people's dreams because if realised, they could become greater than
you? It is evil! Repent today!
Key Point: Envy distorts the rational thinking process of the envious
and makes such a fellow more subjective than objective.
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