TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY OCTOBER 12, 2015.
JEALOUSY
Watchful; feeling jealous; apprehensive of the loss of another’s affection; vigilant in guarding something; feelings of envy of bitterness; feeling of resentment toward someone because they have something we desire.
You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not bow down to them, for I, your God am a jealous God. Exodus 20:3-5.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissentions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like. Galatians 5:19-20.
As we see in the verses above there are two kinds of jealousy. One is divine jealousy and the other is human jealousy. There is a vast difference in the two.
In the verse from Galatians we see jealousy included in a list of things that are sin. In the verse from Exodus we see that God is a jealous God and God is without sin so God cannot be jealous as we are as humans.
Jealousy can be either an intense positive interest of someone or something or it can be an intense negative attitude of resentment of someone or something because they have something they desire to have.
Jealousy that is positive is maintaining or guarding what belongs to someone. This kind of jealousy stems from love.
God created us and loves us with a jealous love. He desires to guard and protect us because we belong to Him. He desires to keep us from anything or anyone that would separate us from Him. This is divine jealousy.
Sinful jealousy is hateful resentment toward someone because they have something we want and do not have.
Have you ever felt jealous of someone else’s success? Maybe they got a new car or a promotion at work that you felt you should have received. When situations like these upset you, you just may have a sin problem. And that problem is that there is jealousy taking root in your heart.
Jealousy is an emotion of extreme displeasure upon seeing someone else’s success. This can poison good relationships, ruin our Christian witness, and keep us from receiving God’s blessings on our life. In Galatians 5:19-20, Paul calls jealousy a work of the flesh. God wants us to conquer these volatile hateful emotions in our lives. Here are some thoughts that may help you.
It is important that we learn to confess our jealousy. This emotion will always have you take your eyes off of the Lord and fix them on some other person or object. Whenever you place a higher value on something over your relationship with God it is a form of idolatry and you put yourself under divine judgment.
Secondly, we must realize that we are disagreeing with God if we are jealous about someone or something. If God chooses to bless someone with something you desire and you become jealous, bring this feeling to God and ask Him to restore a godly perspective in you.
When we see that jealousy is coming we should stop and thank God for what He is doing in someone else’s life. When you praise God, you put yourself in a position to receive a blessing from God. We also need to ask God to put love in our heart for the person you might be jealous of. Do not let jealousy stir up malice and hate in your life but learn how to please God and receive blessings from Him.
Keep your focus on God; Delight in Him knowing that He has promised to give you the desires of your heart. Focus on what God has done for you and on His promises to you in His Word.
When you are grateful to God for the way that He has blessed you, even though it may be less than what others may have, you will not be so tempted to be jealous. God blesses us if we are faithful to Him.
Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 100:4.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
My prayer today is that you would remove all jealousy from my heart and from my thoughts and words. Give me a spirit of gratitude and a shared happiness for others that receive special blessings from You. May my family be blessed by You because of our love and loyalty to You.
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