With Halloween just passed, I find myself thinking of a monster; the green monster. Jealousy.
Jealousy is a nasty and an internal issue. It is thoughts. It is hope deferred. It manifests itself as feelings of want and disappointment. For those who find themselves jealous, you run a race with no finish line. Wealth doesn’t stop jealousy, nor does poverty, or power, or even sorrow.
The bible makes it very clear that jealousy is a sin.
Psalm 23 says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
Galatians 5: 26 says, “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”
But this is difficult, is it not? When other mothers are having healthy babies and healthy pregnancies, there’s you, who did not.
I have been very jealous. I have watched friends and family have children who should be younger than the son that I lost. I have been jealous of another woman’s weight gain, ultrasound, complaints of back pain, and even her nausea. All because it means she is having what I want. And it hurts, not because they shouldn’t be happy, but because wanting to have children is a beautiful thing.
Jealousy originates from self righteousness. When we don’t get what we believe we are entitled to or deserve, we can get jealous. But jealousy only hurts the jealous. If you entertain it, it will rot your heart. You will find yourself hurting relationships with bitter responses or hateful thoughts, or even by completely removing yourself from them. Your focus will be your loss, and your heart will hurt constantly.
God is to be our righteousness. 1 Corinthians 1:30 says, “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” When Jesus reigns in our hearts, his love and compassion leave no room for jealousy. There is no self righteousness in Christ. For we know we are sinners deserving of nothing but death unless Jesus sanctifies us.
Since we don’t actually know our futures, when you truly think about it, jealousy really is a waste of our time and energy. What if you end up getting what you want? Or what if you get something better than what you wanted? What if, when you reflect, you realize it’s a good thing you didn’t get what you wanted?
Thankfully for us, our God never asks any of these questions, and he never has to answer them either. He always knows what we need and he always does what’s best for us. Replace your jealousy with a hunger for God’s will to come to fruition quickly whether painful or not. If you are jealous for His will, He will handle all of your dreams.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
