Love does not envy ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4
Paul was my best friend growing up. He lived two doors down and we did most everything together. We played video games, football, basketball, and most everything else. I can remember one Christmas Paul got a moped from Santa. No, I’m not kidding. A MOPED! It was the year of mopeds. It seemed everyone got one. I remember him specifically. It was baby blue and was made by Honda. I got a bicycle.
So you can see the problem. Right? Christmas morning came and Paul rolled out his shiny new baby blue Honda moped. I rolled out my shiny new red bicycle.
The vroom of the engine as it started and Paul was off around the neighborhood! In a flash, he was back. Me? I just put a playing card in the spokes of my back wheel with a clothes pin so it would sound like a motorcycle. The click click click click of the playing card was awesome, but it wasn’t a moped. HE GOT A MOPED!
After 35 years I think I’m over it, but as a kid it was tough. And if I’m honest, I was a little jealous. I had envy in my heart. And to make matters worse, his dad said no one else could ride it.
I couldn’t even take it for a ride around the block.
I had envy in my heart. That envy turned into resentment. He would say, “Let’s ride around the block” and by the time I got back he had already fixed lunch and was halfway through his sandwich. My poor playing card-driven bicycle, with it’s click click click, was left in the dust.
It was simple resentment. He got a shiny new toy and I got……..well.
In time, things got better. But for probably a year every time I saw that baby blue Honda it made me so resentful.
Love is not jealous
Love does not envy….it is not jealous. We should enjoy seeing people receive good things. The problem is that it’s difficult because we want things for ourselves. It’s true. We live lives that are centered on what we can acquire.
We should get better with this kind of attitude over time as we mature in Christ. But it isn’t easy. It is more of an attitude of sin than an action sin. And when our attitudes become a problem, it affects so much of what we do daily.
Paul gives us additional help with this in Philippians 2:3-8 where he encourages us to “Do nothing out of selfish ambition” and to look at others as more significant than ourselves.
This is the real gut punch for many of us. We have to get away from the resentment of others and celebrate their successes. We should look out for their interests more than our own. It’s more about giving than getting.
Selfishness and envy have no place in our hearts if we are Christ-followers. We should truly enjoy seeing others succeed and receive honor. I know it’s hard, but it’s what we are called to do.
Some Questions…
- Can you name a few people who you resent because of their status or things they have acquired throughout their lives?
- How should you react to the successes of others? What are some ways that you can practically work on the attitude of envy and jealousy?
- Will you pray that God will soften your heart and change your attitude from envy and jealousy to something that would honor the Lord?