THE
EVIL OF ENVY
BREAD
16 For
where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every
evil practice.
James 3:16 (NIV)
28 Furthermore,
since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave
them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with
every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy,
murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters,
insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey
their parents; 31 they
are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God's
righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only
continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Romans 1:28-32 (NIV)
30 A
heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
Proverbs 14:30 (NIV)
17 Do
not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
Proverbs 23:17 (NIV)
20 He
went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’
21 For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts,
sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed,
malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All
these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’”
Mark 7:20-23 (NIV)
BUTTER
“All the commandments of God are commandments
of love tending to our real good and great happiness; far from being grievous
to those who have faith and love, the practice thereof is life and peace. The world may think it a grievous burden;
but this is a great mistake indeed. Sin
is grievous. In hatred, envy, anger,
revenge, pride, there is nothing but torment and slavery; but in love there is
a sweet rest and pleasure. Thus a sinner
always punishes himself, and is robbed of great peace and blessing, by
transgressing the commandments of God.” K. H.
Von Bogatzky
“Let us note how far from satisfactory is the
state of those who are content with sound doctrinal opinions, and orthodox
correct views of the Gospel, while in their daily life they give way to
ill-temper, ill-nature, malice, envy, quarrelling, squabbling, bickering,
surliness, passion, snappish language, and crossness of word and manner. Such persons, whether they know it or not,
are daily proclaiming that they are not Christ’s disciples. It is nonsense to talk about justification,
and regeneration, and election, and conversion, and the uselessness of works,
unless people can see in us practical Christian love.” John Charles Ryle
“Envy is a
denial of providence.” Stephen Charnock
“Many
aspects of the flesh are disarmed and eliminated by a deep apprehension of our
justification by faith. Faith in Christ cures unbelief, anxiety, and
insecurity, and in so doing it cuts the roots of envy, jealousy and a host of
related egocentric fleshly patterns.” Richard
Lovelace
HEART
SAVOR
- · In Jesus there is sweet rest and pleasure but envy rots my bones.
- · My words and my actions must match. I will practice what I believe to be Truth as my actions are the true telling of what I believe.
- · Envy will work havoc in my life and my calling. My focus is to be upward not outward and inward. It is His approval I seek. I am to live my life for an audience of One.
