The Green-eyed Monster
Everyone who grew up with siblings knows that brothers and sisters fight. The first story in the Bible is about two brothers, Cain and Abel, and shares how Cain murdered his brother because he was jealous of him. A little while later, the story of Jacob and Esau is recorded, another two brothers whose relationship was marred by sibling jealousy. In the New Testament, Jesus tells a parable in which the older brother refuses to attend a feast his Dad arranged for his younger son when he returns home after squandering his wealth in a distant country. Filled with jealousy, he complains of unfair treatment from his father, “Look! All these years, I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.”
Wisdom and foolishness in the Book of Proverbs are never neutral but always associated with virtue and vice. The two verses we already pondered this week taught that wisdom is associated with virtue and foolishness is associated with vice. Our third proverb builds on this as we compare the rewards of peace with those of envy in verse 30 — A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
The dictionary describes envy as the desire to have a quality, possession, or other desirable things belonging to someone else. Many cultures regard envy lightly. In advertising, it is not uncommon to read or hear that if you own a particular brand or article, like a car, shoes, or a stove, you will be the envy of your friends, neighbors, or colleagues. But the Bible views envy quite differently. In today’s verse, it is called rottenness to the bones!
It is especially revealing when we read in Matthew 27:18 that Pilate knew that the chief priests and elders had handed Jesus over to him because of jealousy. No wonder it is listed among the life-destroying “works of the flesh” in Galatians 5. James, too, mentions this sin in chapter 4, What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet, but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. The destructive power of envy is evident, and thus, we understand why God warned Cain of the sin lying at his door and why he urged him to master it! God knew all too well that if left unchecked, jealousy would lead to murder. Solomon understood some of this, for a few chapters later, he writes: Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?
GRACE CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK: As envy is unseen by others and easily disguised, it must be brought out into the open before it can be dealt with. If you are struggling with jealousy today, admit it to God. Be specific in your confession by telling God whom you envy and why. Now trust God to pardon you liberally and generously restore your relationship with Him and the other person.
