Proverbs 14:30 “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”
Envy is a “little fox” that can destroy our fruit and future. While jealousy is a reaction of insecurity and low self-esteem, envy is a character trait. Jealousy is the fear of losing what you have to a rival, while envy is a burning desire to have the ‘possessions’ and/or the ‘position’ of someone else. Jealousy is a natural instinct but envy is festered by greed, resentment and covetousness. A bite of jealousy must alert us to drive out the little fox that can spoil the vine. If jealousy is ignored, it will build a stronghold of envy.
Cain was trapped in the throttlehold of envy. Cain’s envy turned him into a murderer as he did not deal with his malicious fits. Both Cain and his brother Abel brought sacrifices to the Lord. The Lord accepted Abel’s offering but he rejected Cain’s offering as Abel bought the fat portion, the firstborn, and the best of his flock. Cain clearly did not follow instructions about thanksgiving offerings and sacrifices. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast (Genesis 4:4-5). Rather than humbling himself and searching his heart Cain became furious and envious. Cain was not just insecure; he was insolent. He refused to hear the voice of correction from the Lord. What started as a “little fox” grew into a murderous demon that provoked him to kill his brother Abel.
Catch the little foxes of jealousy. Envy rots the bones!
Three behaviour traits of envious people:
1. Insecure: Envious people lack confidence and are insecure.
2. Insolent: The root cause of hatred in many would be ‘envy’. Even if they do not kill their rival with a weapon they will murder them in their heart with hatred. This is why some people are unreachable. Nothing you do ever seems to be enough to the envious. The envious are insolent.
3. Indignant: Envy bolts the hearts of the resentful from empathy. Envy cannot be hidden; it will manifest as strife, back slashing and indignance.
Destroy the ‘little fox’ of jealousy/envy.
Prayer: Dearest Holy Spirit, help me to guard my heart from jealousy before it builds a stronghold of envy. Amen.
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