Week 12: Envy, Jealousy, and Related Sins

I.  Envy

     A.  Envy is the  painful and oftentimes resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by someone else. 

          1.  Usually, there are two conditions that tempt us to envy.

               a.  First, we tend to envy those with whom we most closely identify.

               b.  Second, we tend to envy in them the areas we value most. 

          2.  But when we are tempted to envy, we should realize that envy, though it may be a subtle and seemingly minor sin to us, is listed among the vile sins that Paul catalogues in Romans 1:29 and Galatians 5:21.

               a.  Romans 1:29

               b.  Galatians 5:21

II.  Jealousy

     A.  Jealousy is usually defined as intolerance of rivalry. 

          1.  There are legitimate occasions for jealousy, such as when someone is trying to win your spouse away from you.  God even declares Himself to be a jealous God who will not tolerate the worship of anyone or anything other than Himself (see Exodus 20:5).

          2.  Sinful jealousy occurs, however, when we are afraid someone is going to become equal to or even superior to us.

     B.  Dealing with Envy or Jealousy

          1.  …we can, as in so many other areas of subtle sins, turn to the sovereignty of God.  We must recognize that it is God who sovereignly gives us our talents, abilities, and spiritual gifts.  If we are to successfully combat the temptations to envy and jealousy, we must mentally bring God into the picture.  We must remind ourselves that He determines not only what abilities we have but also the degree of those abilities and the blessing He will bestow on their use. 

               a.  1 Samuel 2:7

               b.  Psalm 75:7

          2.  A second weapon against the temptation to envy or become jealous is to remember that all of us who are believers are “one body in Christ and individually members one of another,” or as the NIV translates it, “Each member belongs to all the others” (Romans 12:5).

               a.  Romans 12:5, 10

               b.  Instead of being envious of those who have some advantage over us or being jealous of those who may be overtaking us in some way, we should honor and applaud them, for we are all members of the same body in Christ. 

          3.  Third, we should realize that if we spend emotional energy on envy or jealousy, we lose sight of what God might do uniquely in our lives. 

               a.  …there is no such thing as being second- or third-stringer on the team or sitting on the bench while others play the game.  No, God has a place and an assignment for each of us that He wants us to fill.  Admittedly, some assignments garner more human recognition than others, but all are important in the plan of God. 

III.  Competitiveness

     A.  …the urge to always win or be the top person in whatever our field of endeavor is. 

          1.  Competitiveness is basically an expression of selfishness.  It’s the urge to win at someone else’s expense.  It is certainly not loving our neighbor as ourselves. 

          2.  I believe the scriptural emphasis is on the virtue of doing one’s best…  In our work, we are to work heartily…, which is another way of saying, “Do your best.”

               a.  2 Timothy 2:15

               b.  Colossians 3:23

IV.  Controlling

     A.  Controlling…  the sin of seeking to control others to our advantage or to get what we want. 

          1.  The controller will seek to get his or her way using various methods.  One way is to completely dominate a realtionship by sheer force or willpower so that the other person (or persons) always gives in and lets him get his way.  Another is to get angry when his decisions are questioned or his desires are not readily granted.  Often when the controller-type person doesn’t easily get his way, he will resort to manipulation to achieve that end.  This may be done in a way designed to make the other person feel guilty or incompetent. 

          2.  …the controller wants to get his own way.  Instead of submitting to each other…, there is the urge to control one another.

               a.  Ephesians 5:21

V.  Guerilla Warfare

     A.  Dealing with these subtle sins

          1.  Since we all still have the flesh waging its guerilla warfare in us, we still have blind spots of sin — especially subtle sin — in our lives.  We need the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, and we need the help of others to see those blind spots.  So I urge you to ask God to help you see the tendencies toward envy or jealousy or competitiveness or controlling others.  Ask those closest to you to give you honest feedback.

          2.  If you are a controller-type person, you may find they are reluctant to do that because of your past behavior.  So you must demonstrate a true humility in asking them.  Then, instead of becoming definsive — or using it against them — when they are honest  with you, wisely accept what they say and take it to God to help you. 

               a.  1 Peter 5:5

               b.  Don’t place yourself in the position of being opposed by God.

*This FOCUS Universtiy Ministry Bible Study is based on Jerry Bridges’ book Respectable Sins, Confronting the Sins We Tolerate.   Direct quotes are in italics above.

~ by John Clayton on May 3, 2009.