Green-eyed Girl

I've been struggling with something lately. That awful, twisted feeling of jealousy. I think I want what someone else has - 'Oh, I wish I could go on a vacation like that'...', 'If only I got paid that salary...'or 'If I had money/a job/an opportunity like that and if my children/home/car/life were different...' I've looked at my life and theirs and come away unsatisfied.

Ewww! Not a good place to be.

I looked up the word 'jealous' in Webster's: it means 'intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness', 'hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage' and 'vigilant in guarding a possession'.

Did you know that the Bible says God is a jealous God? (see verses in Ex. 20:5, Deut.4:24, 5:9 among others). He wants no one put before Him - and He is worthy of that honor. There is a 'godly jealousy' that Paul had toward his spiritual children the Corinthian believers (2 Cor. 11:2). When he writes to them in the next chapter it is a different 'jealousy' altogether - "I am afraid that when I come, you will not be what I want you to be, and I will not be what you want me to be. I am afraid that among you there may be arguing, jealousy, anger, selfish fighting, evil talk, gossip, pride, and confusion." (2 Cor 12:20)

Yeah, I'm not talking about the godly jealousy kind. Me? It's the low-down dirty 'I want what you got' attitude. It's also known as envy - a 'painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined by a desire to possess the same advantage'. Uh, yeah. That's the one.

Proverbs 14:20 says envy is 'rottenness to the bones" and James tells us that 'where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there' (James 3:16)

So when I ask myself where these feelings come from I know right where to look - the old fleshly nature of me - the 'old man' - the one who is filled with sin and the one I battle daily. Peter tells us to 'rid ourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind' (1 Peter 2:1) Have you noticed how jealousy and envy are closely associated with more bad attitudes and sin? One thing just leads to another (to go from jealousy and envy to malice is to actually desire someone else's pain!)

Now that I've recognized this (call it what it is!) sin in my life - how do I get rid of it? Peter goes on to tell us in verses 2 and 3 "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." God's Word is the only thing that can set my attitude straight!

Romans 12:15 says to 'be happy with those who are happy, and to weep with those who weep'. The secret is found in 1 Corinthians 12:24-27 'The more respectable parts of our body need no special care. But God put the body together and gave more honor to the parts that need it so our body would not be divided. God wanted the different parts to care the same for each other. If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it. Or if one part of our body is honored, all the other parts share its honor. Together you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of that body."

Mmmh - that means when I look at my brothers or sisters in Christ and want what they have it's like my eyes watching my hand put a piece of chocolate in my mouth and wishing I had some - put that way it does sound ridiculous, doesn't it?

All for Him,

Missy