GREEN-EYED MONSTER!

1 Corinthians 13:4 BSB

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

 

Jealousy or envy is a beast! Often referred to as the green-eyed monster, it hungrily devours peace, contentment, and joy, leaving nothing but deflation, destruction, and decay in its path.

The term "green-eyed monster" referring to envy was first used by Shakespeare in his play Othello. It’s the resentful and dissatisfied longing for another’s possessions, position, fortune, achievements, or success. The Bible says envy is an act of the flesh, the result of human sin according to Galatians 5:19–21.

Who can stand before envy? We’ve all experienced and exhibited envy. Unfortunately, it’s one of the major vices found everywhere, even in the church, and Proverbs 3:31 admonishes us not to envy anyone, especially those doing wrong.

Envy or jealousy was the dominant emotion that motivated the Jewish leaders who sought to have Jesus handed over to the Roman courts in Matthew 27:18.

Envy and jealousy are closely related and sometimes used interchangeably in modern Bible translations, but they are not quite synonymous. Envy is the reaction to lacking something that another person possesses. Jealousy is a reaction to the fear or threat of losing something, or often someone, we possess. Envy is the distress or resentment we feel when others have what we don’t have. Jealousy is the sense of dread or suspicion we feel that what we have might be taken away.

We envy people we think are better than us or have something we don’t but think we should. We tend to get angry out of envy when someone receives, gains, or purchases something we don’t think they deserve or qualify for.

Jealousy is a strong and overwhelming emotion. We see a possession or quality that belongs to someone else, and we want it. And we don’t want them to have it. Jealousy is hostile, disruptive, and consuming.

We shouldn’t envy others for their good fortune, says 1 Corinthians 13:4, because love does not envy. True love does not envy. It does not desire what someone else has and can truly be happy for the blessings others enjoy, even while watching from the sidelines. This is a quality that is sometimes hard to practice in a world where everyone is trying to “keep up with the Joneses."

A dissatisfied heart is the root of envy. We experience envy when we cannot have what our heart desires. The Lord says in Psalm 37:4-6 that He will give us the desires of our hearts if we delight in Him, and not when we envy others.

Envy is a hidden emotion that’s always brewing underneath. Jealousy corrupts motives, thoughts, and actions. The object of our envious emotion may not even be aware of it and therefore be unable to deal with it.

The green-eyed monster shows up at “She’s thinner, prettier, funnier, smarter, richer, more popular, and more.” An envious heart does not allow for a life of peace according to Proverbs 14:30; if the heart is diseased, life cannot be long.

Everyone gets green eyes occasionally; I do sometimes. We all struggle with it, even if unintentionally.

Envy creates competition between people, like Rachel and her sister Leah, whose whole lives were one competition after the other (see Genesis 29:31-32; 30:1-16).

In James 3:14–16, we find this stern warning about the sin of envy: “But if you harbour 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, and demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”

Wherever there is envy, strife is not far behind. Be careful to avoid envy; it is cancer to the bones.

PRAYER: Lord, help me to focus on who we are in Christ and recognize everything is from You. Free me from the envious monster’s grip and let Your love flood my heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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