This first series, called the Deadly Series, will be a 7-week long journey where we will be discussing the 7 deadly sins that God finds detestable to his people. There will be one sin per week, with each sin we will talk about the Godly traits we will need to exhibit to combat the deadly one. Don’t worry, we will discuss these sins in grave detail as this series will be very informative, thought-provoking, and loaded with various bible scriptures to help support and back each discussion-based topic.
Within this series, viewers/ readers will have an opportunity to purchase original content worksheets to further enrich their knowledge and gain even more Golden Nuggets!
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you once again for another day that you have made. We thank you that you are an awesome God that hears and answers prayers. Father, give us strength in areas that we are weak in. Guide us through our lives and allow us to lean on your word and not our own understanding. You are the God of everything and there's no one like you. Father, please forgive us of our sins. In Jesus name. Amen.
For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness
Mark 7:21-22
Having an Envious Spirit?
Dictionary.com describes the word envy as having a feeling of discontentment or covetousness regarding another person's advantages, success, possessions, etc.
The reason why envy is a deadly sin is because it focuses a lot of energy that you should put on God, and not yourself and others. You're so focused on what others have that you are not grateful for what you have, which is dangerous.
People tend to not want to be around people who complain, are jealous, and are negative, and God is no different. It's not that we don't love that person, it's just simply annoying after a while, and who wants to be around that!
What Does the Bible Say About Being Envious?
The Bible says alot about envious people. Like I mentioned earlier no one wants to be around negative and envious people. The bible tells us that things physically start to happen when we choose the path of Envy. Proverbs 14:3, saying when your heart is at peace it’s good to the body but the moment envy comes in it rots the bones. When I think of rotting, I immediately think of food. If you leave food out too long then it begins to rot or decay, leaving it prone to bacteria and possible fungus. When we act in jealousy it makes our bones weak, brittle and will start to decay.
Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple.
Job 5:2
God is love, and we should all be like Him. 1 Corinthians 13:4 speaks of the true definition of what love is and what it is not. [Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7] Love at its rawest form is this scripture.
Does your love hold up to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7?
People In the Bible That Struggled With Envy?
Like we have discussed in previous posts, the bible is full of examples of what we should and shouldn't do. There are lots of examples in the bible of people who struggled with envy, let's dive in and find out who!
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.
Proverbs 23:17-18
STORYTIME:
Cain and Abel
If you will turn your bibles with me to [Genesis 4:1-16], we will read about Cain and Abel. Cain, the oldest, and Abel, the youngest, were brothers and were the children of Adam and Eve. Now Abel tended to the flocks and Cain worked the soil. One day both Cain and Abel both brought offerings to offer to God. Abel brought fat portions from his firstborn flock while Cain brought fruits to offer after he had saved the best for himself. God looked over these offerings and showed favor to Abel for his offering and was displeased with Cains. Cain was very angry at God because his brother received God’s favor. The Lord looked to him and asked Cain this question [Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Genesis 4:6-7]
Cain then turned his anger, and envy towards his brother, here is where it gets interesting. Cain convinced his brother Abel to go out into the field and when they got out there Cain attacked and killed him! When God called out for them and asked Cain where his brother Abel was, Cain, lied to God! Pause, Y’all, how are you going to lie to God, who is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent! Play. Cain lied and told God that he did not know where Abel was. This is what Cain said to God [“I don’t know,’’ he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Genesis 4:9]
After lying to God and killing his brother God cursed Cain to become a restless wanderer for the rest of his life. The envy he felt for his brother caused him to fall deeper into sin. His envy led him into resentment, and to turn his back on God.
Jacob and Esau
Turn in your bibles to the book of Genesis 25:19-34, 27:1-45. Jacob and Esau were twins that were born into a dysfunctional family. Their parents were Isaac and Rebecca. Isaac showed more favor to his son Esau, who was a hunter, while Rebecca showed favor to Jacob, who was the quiet one. From a very early age, the twins envied each other, wanting what the other had. Jacob was so envious of his brother Esau that he tricked his brother into giving up his rights as a firstborn son in exchange for a bowl of soup.
Yes, you read that correctly, a bowl of soup!!! [Genesis 25: 29-34] One day, Esau had been hunting all day long and became famished. His brother was home cooking soup when Esau walked in. Jacob decided that this was his chance to trick his brother. He told him that if he gave up his rights to the throne that he would feed him. With Esau not realizing it, he agreed.
The second example of jealousy was then Rebecca overheard a conversation between Esau and Isaac. At this time Issac was dying of old age and was also blind. Isaac wanted Esau to go out and hunt, and bring it back and prepare his last meal before he dies, then and only then will he bless Esau. [Genesis 27: 5-7]
Eavesdropping, Rebecca, goes to Jacob and tells him to also go out and hunt and bring his killings to her and she will cook it so that Jacob can bring it to Isaac, so he too can be blessed. Jacob pondered on the fact that he was not hairy like his brother, and asked his mother how he would deceive Isaac. Rebecca then stole and dressed Jacob in Esau clothes and put goat skin on Jacob's neck and arms. Jacob, all dressed and ready to go, took the meal that Rebecca cooked and gave it to his father Isaac. [Genesis 27: 8-17]
There, Isaac blind as a bat, questions Jacob [pretending to be Esau] saying, “Esau, how did you hunt and prepare the food so fast,” “if you are my firstborn, let me touch you to see if you are really Esau. Isaac touches Jacob [pretending to be Esau] and kisses him smelling of his outside clothes. He then is confident that this was really his firstborn.
After eating and dining he then blesses Jacob thinking that it’s Esau, Jacob runs off and then we find Esau coming in with his meal to give to his father Isaac. But unbeknownst to him Isaac already had eaten and they soon figured out that it was Jacob all the while. Esau, becoming frazzled, wanted his father to bless him too, but Isaac had nothing to give him. He told him that you will serve his brother Jacob and be ruled by him in due time when he will become restless and will break the yoke around his neck. [Genesis 27: 18-39]
Leah and Rachel
Let’s turn in the bible to [Genesis 29:15-35 & 30:1-24] to follow along. Leah and Rachel were sisters that compared themselves to each other constantly, so much so that it created envy in their hearts toward each other. Now Leah was a plain-looking woman but she was fertile and able to have many children. While on the flipside Rachel was considered to be extremely beautiful but was barren, unable to have any children. Rachel was envious of her sister’s ability to have children and was angry and resentful towards God for not giving her the ability to have children.
Now Jacob loved Rachel wholeheartedly, and he intended on marrying her. On the day of the wedding Jacob was tricked, by Leah and Rachel’s father, and instead married Leah. The father did this because Leah was the oldest and could give Jacob children while Rachel could not. Jacob was upset over this as he had worked a sum of seven years so that he may have Rebecca’s hand in marriage [ When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I have served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?” Genesis 29:25]. Their father Laban, told Jacob that it was against their customs to marry the younger before the older and if he was willing to work another seven years then he would give Rachel to him to marry as well. Jacob agreed and was married to both Leah and Rachel.
The love that Jacob felt for Rachel was much greater than what he felt for Leah. The envy that Leah and Rachel had for each other made them bitter.
How Does Envy Affect Us?
A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones
Proverbs 14:30
Being envious affects us in more ways than one. Let's take a look!
Exposes our dissatisfaction in what God has done for you. When you are so focused on others you immediately lose sight of God. You have officially missed your mark. It now becomes a battle with yourself and your frustration with that other person.
You come off as negative and rude. When you're envious, fewer and fewer people won’t want to be around you. You become too much to tolerate and handle. No one wants to be tolerated but you’ll be surprised what people will put up with just because they love you. Enviousness is related to all types of things, depression, anxiety, trauma, deeply rooted insecurities from past relationships and so much more. All of these things can hinder a person and in a result cause bitterness and personal unhappiness towards themselves. That unhappiness will then be inflicted onto others around them which in due time will cause people to not come around them.
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder
James 3: 14-16
Worldly Perspective on Enviousness
The world and envy are like two peas in a pod, they both go hand and hand. I think it became even clearer once the pandemic struck. Once the hardship of the pandemic really hurt a lot of people financially, one can say jealousy and worry slipped through the gap. Some may have been upset because so and so got to keep their job, or they lost their job, or even they can work from home. Envy is all around us and can show it’s ugly when we are not content with or not willing to work with what we have.
We are now living in an age where people are becoming lazy and don't want to work for anything. They just think doing the bare minimum will keep and sustain them and that's not the case at all. They see that through pictures, videos, and lifestyles and think they can be and do that but do not realize half the stuff if not all of it, is fake and unattainable. The world will always trick you into thinking that “you will be better if you looked like this, talked like this, or became this.” Be who God wants you to be and forget what the world will label you as.
Shades of Envy
For he knew it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over.
Mark 15:10
You are not genuinely happy when other people are succeeding
You become stressed with others that tend to get things done quicker than you.
In some way, you have to downplay someone else's success
You judge others harshly
You always have to do better to appear that I am better
That should have been mine, I deserve it.
They have more money than I do. I wish that God would bless me with that.
She is wearing designer clothes, all my clothes are hand-me-downs.
How come they have this and I am stuck with that?
You're happy when others experience trauma, pain, or setbacks.
You gossip about others maliciously behind their backs.
Characteristics of Envy
Complaining Constantly:
One thing that is unattractive to anyone is a complainer. Good Lord!! A complainer will kill any vibe that is set, I'm telling you! Count your blessings and stay humble. [They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the Lord. Psalm 106:25]
Insincere:
Envious people will gas you up with insincere compliments and false praise. They will pretend to be supportive of you but secretly they are plotting different ways they can stay you in the back or take what you have. Be careful of the company you keep. It is rare that an Envious person will reveal to you that they are jealous of you. They, instead, will gossip about you and try to tarnish your reputation. [Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 6:1]
Copycats:
When an envious person sees you doing well or sees you being successful they will try and mimic each and everything that you do from your hairstyle down to your nail color. They are obsessed with what you have and will do everything they can to get it. [ Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. 1 Corinthians 11:1-3]
Flaunters:
Envious people will often overemphasize their own successes to drown out yours. They do not care about what you have accomplished and will often try to one-up you. If you have one penny then they will have two. If you walk 5 miles they will walk 7. This is prideful behavior, especially when they are boasting about all of what they have done. They will overtalk you and anyone else and are often the loudest of the group. [ For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? 1 Corinthians 4:7]
Sabotagers:
Envious people are destructive and will sabotage you at any chance that they get. They will deliberately give you horrible advice or critiques to tear you down or keep you from reaching success. They are unwilling to share with you any of their knowledge for fear that you will do better than them. Their main mission is to see you fail and will often keep from trying new things. They will always be the people that will constantly find the negatives in everything that you do to keep you from going after your goals and dreams.
Overly Competitive:
People that are envious are overly competitive; they will try to upstage you at every chance that they get. Many do not care if you are hurt in the process. They are often sore losers and will show aggressiveness when competing with you.
Overly Critical:
As I mentioned earlier, envious people are sabotagers. They will criticize you at every chance they get in effort to tear you down or discourage you. Envious people will make an entire career out of criticizing you because they don't want to see you doing well and their criticism will often make you second guess or doubt yourself. They will jump at any opportunity to humiliate you in front of other people as well. [You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Matthew 7:5]
Insecure:
Envious people are severely insecure about themselves and what they have. They feel the need to constantly compare themselves to others which in turn makes them even more envious. This leads them to be angry at God because they do not have what everyone else has.
How Do We Combat an Envious Spirit?
Focus Your Energy On God. I can't stress this enough, lean on God, not man. God is the only one who knows you better than anyone, he loves you unconditionally, and most importantly he knows the plans he has set for you. If God knows all of those things then why be jealous. Focusing on God means staying in constant and consistent prayer, loving others, and reading your bible. There's a lot more that God requires of us but start with those basic three. Once you have them down then we can expand from there. [Jeremiah 29:11]
Get To Know Yourself Through Christ. We as Christians should know that God is our creator, provider and He's just plain old awesome! God, who is the creator of all things, created various species, animals, insects, trees, and plants to His liking. So much so that all of what he created was beautiful and pleasing to Him. Because they were pleasing to him they all worked together by blooming, pollinating, evolving to create what mankind lives on, the earth. Do you think he would do all that by making all of this creating the same? No, God made each creation beautifully different in its own way and he didn't the same with cresting you. Combating envy is knowing your worth and value in God. You are uniquely, fearfully, and wonderfully made. [Psalms 139:14] Own your uniqueness! Own the very thing God had gifted you. We, as a community, are not designed to fit in, we are not designed to be passive followers of Christ but to be bold and steadfast. Pray to the Father and ask him, what amazing gifts did you bestow on me that I am not aware of?
Contentment. Combating envy means being content with whatever hand you have been dealt and working from there. It's hard to not want to say "why God, I want that, I want to dress like that, or I want money so I can buy stuff like that". I have learned from experience that we don't have it because one, we ask not. [Matthew 7:7-8] Some things I really wanted or needed, but didn't have were because I never stopped and asked God for them. Who knows, other than God, it could have very well worked in my favor, if I would have only prayed first instead of complaining about it. Two, because it's not our time to have it yet. This is where experience and learning comes into play. Ever since I could remember, I would dream of having a mansion of my own, on 50 acres of land. I dreamt of having a greenhouse to grow produce and living solely off of what I planted and grew. I wanted several bedrooms and bathrooms, a movie theater, an indoor and outdoor pool, and a luxurious guest house that my mother would stay in, a chef, and a small farm with horses. I wanted the works! As I got older, I was able to experience that contentment is not what you can buy or even own, it's the peace you have when you are happy with what you have. The basics of what you need are met. I'm not saying that God won't provide me with what I dreamt for myself but I learned recently that I don't need much to feel full. My only dream is that I live life to fulfill my purpose, to live accordingly, and to not worry about things I can't control. Of course, there are a few other things, but my list doesn't consist of a lot of materialistic items.
Take heed to activities that revolve around comparison. Let's face it, it's so easy to compare ourselves to anything and everything. Commercials and advertising make it impossible to not do it. Limiting TV time, and social media would help drastically. Filling your time with productive habits and activities are always a plus.
Put Your Envy In ✅
Golden Nuggets I Leave You!
Hey Golden Dreamers, I hope today's post was good to you and good for you. I hope this has ministered to your soul.
I leave you with this, be mindful of your thoughts. If they are not with love, or of pure joy especially when it comes to others, then you must get to a place where you correct your automatic tendencies, myself included. Will you show positive unconditional regard to someone in their winning season even if yours is not? Be careful of your thoughts, for they will soon become your actions.
I pray that this deadly series touches those who are in need of it. I pray that this blog and your actions regarding God pushes you into purpose.
Be kind to yourself and most importantly, be kind to others. Amen.
Questions To Consider (ask yourself these questions and see what you come up with?)
Have I ever been jealous of anyone before? How did it make me feel?
What am I most jealous of?
When I become envious of someone, what does it say about me?
When I have become jealous in the past, did anger, bitterness, and hatred follow it?
Does my unbelief play a role in my jealousy?
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