BEWARE OF ENVY 1

MEMORY VERSE: For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. James 3:16

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 20-22

Genesis 30:1 says: “And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.” “And when Rachel saw .....” implies that Rachel had been looking. What was she looking at or in this particular verse who was she looking at? Her sister Leah. Rachel and her sister, Leah, got married the same week. In less than 5 years, Leah had given birth to four boys and Rachel, none. Rachel, just like many do today, began to compare her life with her sister’s life. She began compare what God was doing in Leah’s life with what God was doing in her own life. This led her to envy her senior sister. What really informed her envy was that she felt that Leah was in a better position than her. She felt that Leah was better off because she had four boys and she (Rachel) had none. Many today are doing exactly what Rachel did. They are busy comparing their lives with the lives of their friends or the people around them. Brother A has bought a car and i am yet to buy a car. Sister A is married with children and i am yet to be married talk less of have children. Let me share what i read somewhere: “My mates are getting married. My mates are getting good jobs. My mates are succeeding. My mates are living overseas. My mates are buying cars. My mates are building houses. My mates are this... My mates are that..... It’s a pity that you literally forgot about your mates in the mortuary; your mates in the psychiatric homes; your mates roaming on the streets; your mates that are jobless, hungry, blind, dear..... You might not be where you want to be but you have obviously transcended where you were yesterday.” Instead of getting yourself all worked up because of what is happening in the lives of the people around you, thank God for the little you have. Besides, what you are calling little is massive in the eyes of others.

Why is envy dangerous? Envy destroys a relationship. When envy is activated within a friendship, the friendship can experience significant tension and conflict. The word of God tells us that where envy is, every evil thing you can think of you will find there. James 3:16: “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.” Envy can destroy a family, a long-term relationship, an organisation, etc. Rachel’s envy almost destroyed her family. Her envy literally drove her family apart. Because of envy, her relationship with her senior sister was strained. Not only that, it affected her behaviour towards Leah’s children. It even affected her behaviour towards her husband. Rachel’s envy affected her decisions also. Envy gives birth to evil desires. It makes people to think and act irrationally. How can a woman stoop so low as to give her maid to her husband? Naturally, no woman wants to share her husband with any woman talk less of stooping that low to give her maid to her husband. Envy divides a family. Jacob’s family was broken into two – Leah, her children, her maid and her children & Rachel, her child, her maid and her children. Envy leads to confusion.

NOTE: Envy left unchecked can destroy anything.

PRAYER POINT: Spirit of envy I. bind you in the name of Jesus , under the blood of Jesus, leave my life and return no more.

twitter@BroOluwatoki

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world