Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Nothing Good Comes From Jealousy

This made Saul very angry. “What’s this?” he said. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!” So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David. -- 1 Samuel 18:8-9

Have you ever been on the receiving end of someone’s jealous eye? It’s uncomfortable at best. Sometimes it can be downright terrifying.

Saul, the king the people had asked for, had lost God’s blessing. Instead, God had chosen David to be His king. Saul knew this. The prophet Samuel had told him. But it didn’t really seem to hit home until the women started singing and dancing and telling everyone that David had killed more enemies than their king. That’s enough to prick anyone’s ego, especially someone with a great deal of pride to go with that ego.

The root of jealousy is bound deeply into fear. Saul was afraid of losing his power, his kingdom, his pride. But he already had. And that drove him insane. Literally. Saul lost his mind as he focused his jealous eye on the man God had chosen to replace him.

Of course, jealousy can go the other way too. Have you ever been consumed with jealousy? Have you ever really been afraid that someone else was after your spouse or your job? Remember that jealousy stems from fear. What were you afraid you would lose?

Some jealous goings on are just plain ridiculous. I once had a woman close to me eye me with a hateful glare. I knew something was up but I couldn’t figure out what I’d done to upset her so much. It went on for a while. She finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and spilled the reason for her jealous hatefulness. She wanted to know why my lipstick stayed on and hers didn’t. I shared my “secret” and shook my head. Jealousy over lipstick! Go figure.

The dictionary says that jealousy happens when someone thinks of another person as a rival. Certainly, that was the case with Saul and David. Saul knew that David would one day claim his throne and there was nothing he could do about it.

Do you have a rival? Does someone want something you have? Or do you want something someone else has. Nothing good can ever come from jealousy. Nothing. It will drive you to insanity, destroy relationships, make you obsess over things that aren’t worth the effort. Stand firm against Satan’s pull. Whether you’re the one who is jealous or whether you’re on the receiving end, give it to God. That’s it. Just give it to God.