Overcoming Jealousy Step One

There are so many things that we can be jealous of. It starts when we are children and can work its way up through our whole adult life. like a snake winding its way up a tree. It is a hard emotion to even begin to think about overcoming, as a Christian sometimes. And it is as old as almost the beginning of time.

We see it in the early pages of the bible where Cain killed Able because when they had gone to worship God, he was more pleased with Able's offering then he was Cain's. Cain's had been 'the fruit of the ground" and Able's was "fat portions from some of his firstborn flock." Hebrews 11:4.

Cain's jealousy over this situation ended up in his murdering his brother Able. Genesis 4:8 And so it has gone for the ages since and of course continues today, in families, in businesses, in countries. Often times resulting in horrific crimes.

But getting back to how we can overcome it as Christians, in this day and age. It is truly something that we need to work on it in our own lives so that it does not spiral out of control.

But just how do we do that?

I believe the first step is to see what the bible says about it. I Corthianians 3:3 says this: You are still of the flesh. For while there are strife and jealousy among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way.

God's love for us is so perfect that he wants us to display that same love in all our relationships as 1 Corthianians 13:4-5 explains: Love is patient, it is kind. It does not envy or boast, it is not proud or rude, it is not self-seeking or easily angered nor does it keep a record of wrongs.

Have you ever known anyone that this scripture fits fairly well? Maybe even too well? Yeah, me too. Myself.  If we are honest we all can admit that we have been all these things at one time or another. Or perhaps still are, very regularly.

Aha, so then having seen what the bible says about it, we then have to admit we can often be any and all those things in that scripture. And when we are, we take our focus off God who by the Holy Spirit wants to produce his fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control within us. Galatians 5:22-23. By taking our focus off God, we are putting it on ourselves.

But are those attributes really attainable for us as Christians because we may not see them in some of our fellow church members? ( Really God?) And if we don't see them in other Christians, don't we have the right to act in ways that are unbecoming to our Creator?

The answers are for one, yes, they are attainable. Because God created us to be in his own image.Genesis 1:27. And if he were a selfish God, he would have not made them attainable to us, and instead, let us just run helter-skelter without any instruction on how to be more like him.

But because he loved us, he gave us a whole guide book with which to give us the things we need to overcome the kinds of thing he wants us to avoid, so that we can live a wonderful life in him and through him with by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Overcoming jealousy? Not an easy thing to do in becoming more like Jesus. But it is with constant prayer, reading the bible, going to church, fellowshipping with other Christians that gets us so much farther down that road, and helps us become mature in that area (as well as others that we are struggling with) not to mention much happier and easier to live with.

 And for those other Christians that haven't gotten there yet, that is in no way that gives you and I an excuse to judge them. We are accountable to God for our own actions, and not theirs. Let God do the work in them even if it does not look like he is. In the meantime, let him do it in us.

January 24, 2019 Promise: Joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5


Up tomorrow: Overcoming Jealousy Step Two

I am glad you have spent a few minutes with me today Friends. Have a blessed day!