Admin
|
Has jealousy ever stolen your joy?
Posted : 28 Nov, 2010 10:53 AM
Here's another soul-searching, uplifting, encouraging and inspiring article from In Touch magazine on this topic that touched and blessed my heart to be reminded of this danger ... and, yes, at times this has happened to me in MY life.
Love,
Your Barefoot Guy To Love Brother in Christ,
Steve
Her Blessing
How Jealousy Can Steal Joy
By Laurie Russell
In amazement, I looked from my seat. Was that really Tammy? A few years ago, while visiting my family back home, I decided to attend my old church in the city. Up on stage, leading worship in front of thousands of people, was my old friend. How did she get there?
When we were younger, Tammy and I were part of a coffee group that met together twice a month. Back then, she dreamed of leading worship and signing record deals. As I watched her sing, it was obvious that God was using her to do both.
One part of me wanted to celebrate and praise God for allowing her to fulfill her dreams. But another part of me, a darker part, was less than excited. I found myself wondering, Why not me? God was using me in my work and ministry, but I wanted to be part of that kind of blessing.
The battle of emotions tugged and tore at me. I didn�t like feeling this way. As Tammy�s sister in Christ, I knew I should be excited that God was using my friend and happy to see His hand working in her life. And I was . . . kind of.
I didn�t want to appear �unspiritual,� so I pretended to be happy for her, boasting about her performance to my husband. But beneath the fa�ade, jealousy circulated through me like poison, making its way to my heart. I tried harder, praising her with a fake smile that I hoped would neutralize my emotions. Maybe if I faked it enough, I could sincerely be happy for her.
No such luck. The more I bragged about her to my husband, the more I thought about it. The more I thought about it, the more it ate away at me. What was happening? Jealousy was destroying my joy.
Jealousy Craves Status
I wasn�t jealous of Tammy�s stuff�her clothes, her house, or even her talent. My battle wasn�t a desire to be the one on the stage leading worship. It was her blessing I wanted.
I was living out a modern day version of Jacob and Esau. God had blessed my sister in Christ with an incredible ministry, and I wanted it. I wanted to be the one chosen by God. I craved a glamorous calling that met all of my specifications. Why was God fulfilling Tammy�s personal requests and not mine?
After the service, I spoke with Tammy. As we caught up with each other, I was tempted to exaggerate what was going on in my life and ministry. I felt the need to �one up� her, to let her know I was doing something special too.
Jealousy often seeks to self-gratify. And in the process, someone else is diminished. John the Baptist modeled how to respond to this temptation. His ministry was to prepare the way for Christ. For a season, he drew the largest crowds. However, when Jesus began His ministry, life changed for John and his disciples.
In John 3:26, John�s disciples expressed their concern for his drop in ratings. They were upset that the people preferred to be baptized by Jesus instead of John.
The faithful disciple could have fought the shifting tide of popularity in order to stay in the game. He could have yelled louder or fasted from locusts to gain more attention. But he understood his true purpose. His job was to prepare the way for the Messiah. He was not the Messiah, and he knew when it was time to step back. So to his fellow disciples, he replied, �He must increase; but I must decrease� (John 3:30).
A covetous heart craves status and fights to maintain it. John�s heart was committed to promoting God rather than himself. So when the time came for him to step down, he was able to humbly do so.
Jealousy Distorts Reality
As Tammy led worship, I enjoyed the music and sang along. However, I was just going through the motions. Instead of focusing on God and His greatness, my attention was on Tammy and her success.
I thought about her upbringing, schooling, and support system. It angered me. It felt as if everything had been handed to her with ease while I had continually worked and waited.
These thoughts snowballed, and before I knew it, I was a victim of circumstance�or at least that�s how I perceived it. In reality, none of this was true. Tammy worked hard and gave her talent completely to the Lord, and therefore He was able to use her.
James warns us, �But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such �wisdom� does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil� (3:14-15 niv).
This �wisdom� of being a victim does not come from God. The Enemy uses this subtle tactic to provoke us to shift our focus from the Lord to self. Envy skews our vision, preventing us from seeing the truth. But when I am honest enough to focus on God and get my heart right with Him, I see clearly the numerous ways He�s blessed me and used me.
Jealousy Steals Joy
The irony in this story is that, at time of this incident, my husband and I were missionaries home on furlough. One of my greatest joys as a missionary was watching others follow Christ and serve Him with their talent. This was Tammy. It baffled me that seeing her ministering in this way triggered jealousy instead of joy.
Jealousy is one of those intruders that can begin as a random thought and within minutes spread to infect our minds and hearts. If we stop it before it takes up residence, we can win the battle. If not, evicting this no-good trespasser will be very difficult. I know from experience. Rather than delight in my friend�s success, I harbored begrudging feelings, which grew within me. What took only a moment to begin required days to overcome.
I cringe as I write this�it�s not one of the �missionary stories� I enjoy sharing with others. However, it�s a struggle that continues to re-emerge, so I must learn to how to fight it.
Proverbs 14:30 (niv) warns, �A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.� And unfortunately, it doesn�t take much time for the �rotting� to begin.
To defeat the green-eyed monster, we must go on the offensive and think positive, praiseworthy thoughts. Philippians 4:8 (niv) encourages us with this: �Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable�if anything is excellent or praiseworthy�think about such things.� Paul�s prescription is the perfect anti-venom.
Copyright 2010 In Touch Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. www.intouch.org. In Touch grants permission to print for personal use only.
Post Reply
|
