September 26, PM. The daily devotion for September 26, focuses on the dangers of. Recommended articles. Here are 10 Bible verses on envy and jealousy. Proverbs ; "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Job ; "Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple. We would love to hear what you think about the content on Pulse Give us your feedback.
Our newsletter gives you access to a curated selection of the most important stories daily. Submit your stories now via social or: Email: eyewitness pulse. FG opens portal for sale of completed housing projects. For both of these sisters, these two things had begun to define and determine their identities. As both compared what the other had and what they each lacked, they began to resent each other more and to even grow bitter towards God.
It was only once Leah began to find her identity in God that her attitude changed. When Judah arrived, her attitude was now one of thankfulness and praise rather than bitterness. Although Rachel did eventually give birth to two children, Joseph and Benjamin, she eventually died in labour. Can you identify with these two sets of sisters? Perhaps you feel that someone else you know gets all the attention and praise because of their looks and popularity.
They seem to have it all together, and naturally people seem to shower them with love. But perhaps these people also compare themselves to you as well. Maybe they are unable to have children or are barren in another area of their lives in which you seem to be thriving.
Look at the example of Leah and how she eventually began praising God and choosing to be thankful. This changed her whole outlook on things and God did something beautiful in her by producing the Messianic line from which Jesus would eventually come. The Israelites ask for a king to be like the other nations, and God chooses Saul for them in 1 Samuel However, in 1 Samuel , God rejects Saul for his direct disobedience.
Their relationship started out on good terms when David defeated Goliath and brought the Israelites to victory. He saw what he once had and how he had lost it. He also saw how David had grown in popularity and was the one whom God seemed to be blessing.
Once Saul had been in the spotlight. Saul began to feel threatened. This increased his possessiveness over the throne and what he assumed belonged to him. However, Saul sought to hold onto his kingdom even more tightly and began to persecute David. In his book Quality Friendship , Gary Inrig examines the relationship between Saul and David as an example of how friendships can be destroyed.
Envy is the drive that makes me reach for what others have. At that stage, David was no longer a person to Saul. He was a competitor, and Saul was deeply envious of him. We can easily fall into the same trap as Saul. Perhaps we feel that God once blessed us and shone His favour upon us. But then, for whatever reason, it seems to have stopped.
But perhaps it is also because God is wanting to highlight the fact that we have become too dependent on His blessings and the gifts we receive. Perhaps we are making these into idols and are seeking these more earnestly than God Himself.
But instead of responding to God in the appropriate way, we might seek to hold on even more tightly to what we feel is slipping away from us. Like Saul, we might see someone else taking our place and receiving the praise that we once had. In times like these, we can become very envious of their success and abilities. We of course, would never go that far.
Or would we? He had every reason to compare himself to David. He was rightfully the heir to the throne. The older brother is out in the field when he hears the sounds of celebration. However, he has never done something similar for him. Yet the father reassures his son that everything he has is his. But they must celebrate because his son was dead but is now alive.
In his book The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith , Tim Keller observes that the older son was just as lost and estranged as the younger son, even though he was living in close proximity to his father. Keller suggests that we should refer to the story as the parable of the Two Lost Sons. Commentators sometimes see that Jesus is drawing an analogy between the older brother and the Pharisees, while the prodigal son represents those whom the Pharisees would not have considered righteous.
The prodigals were those who had been lost but were coming into the kingdom. We can sometimes assume a similar stance to the older brother.
We may have been Christians for a long time and feel that we have been serving God and giving our best to him. Then suddenly a new Christian appears who is young in their faith. Perhaps they previously led a life of sin and waywardness. But now the church receives them with open arms and everyone makes a big song and dance about it. I know I have experienced this myself.
Perhaps they themselves even begin to think more highly of themselves to you because of their position. But that is really another discussion entirely. What I want to concentrate on here is our response to that and how we feel when we begin to compare our own Christian walk with others. We need to avoid being like the older brother with his more Pharisaical response.
Are you not acting like mere humans? Matthew Acts They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him. Psalm But God was with him. Mark Genesis John Isaiah Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them. Ezekiel Exodus Esther Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Jude Numbers The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them.
Sandra Hamer Smith.
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