|
Jealous- noun, jealous resentment against a rival, a person enjoying success or advantage, etc., or against another's success or advantage itself
I've been reading in Genesis lately and I was struck by a fact that I never considered. It seems to me that the first two major sins (disobeying God and a brother's murder) were the result of jealousy...or envy. I wonder how many of us still live under this oppression.
Satan shows up and presents to Eve (and Adam) that God is holding out on them and that they can be "like God" if they would just eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (no children...it was not an apple). They choose to believe the lie and eat of the fruit thereby allowing sin to enter the world. They are jealous of God's position, they envy what He has and want it for their own.
Later, their son Cain, kills his brother Abel. Why? We read that it had to do with offerings and there are many explanations and ponderings about this...but in the end, God favored Abel and rejected Cain. I wonder if it came down to Cain being jealous of God's favor with his brother...
In James 4 it says that wars and fights come from our selfish desires and that it leads to murder and coveting and I can see where my selfishness for what others have that I do not really boils down to jealous envy, being angry that God has blessed my brother...angry that I do not enjoy that same favor.
I wonder how many of us allow strife to come between one another out of jealous rivalry, secretly wanting what God has given to another or secretly despising God for showing favor to another.
I wonder...
|
BLOGOSPHERE 
