ENVY - Get rid of your green eyes!

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

According to the Free Dictionary, envy is a feeling of discontent and resentment aroused by and in conjunction with desire for the possessions or qualities of another.

Being content with what you own or have brings about peace. Being ambitious is not wrong, however over ambition can lead to dissatisfaction with another's progress or achievement. When you develop an envious heart, you tend to abhor another's blessing, and cannot celebrate when another person is shown favour over you.

Joseph's brothers could not stand the preferential treatment being shown to Joseph by his father, Jacob. When Joseph had a dream of how great he was to become, his brothers were green with envy. Their dislike for Joseph heightened and they plotted to kill him. In the end, they sold their own brother as a slave.

Envy plots evil! It puts a veil over the beauty of another's success. To the envious heart, anything good and beautiful must be theirs. Being friends with an envious person is dangerous, because envy that is not bridled can kill.

King Saul was envious of the poor shepherd David. Saul could not stand the praises sung to
David and hated him from then, plotting to kill him -

1 Samuel 18: 6-9 When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lyres. As they danced, they sang:

Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. ‘They have credited David with tens of thousands,’ he thought, ‘but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?’ And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.

I Samuel 19 : 1 reads - Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David...

Envy caused evil thoughts to enter Saul, he wanted David dead, the subsequent chapters reveal Saul's foiled plot after plot to kill David. King Herod similarly envied Jesus, even though Jesus was a harmless baby. King Herod's envy stemmed from the knowledge he had that Jesus equally was a King. Burning with hatred arising from envy, he sought the murder of all male babies. Jesus miraculously escaped his evil intention, and yet many babies died as a result of one man's envy.

Lucifer was an angel that became envious of God's supreme power and sought to be like God. His envy is the root of every evil we witness on earth.

Dear reader, we are all unique in our own way. We are not the same. Different things shall happen to us differently. God has good plans for each creation of His. Before Lucifer's heart became evil, he was a beautiful arch angel, very musical . He was God's art of beauty. But envy veiled his beauty. He sought what God had not offered him. He could not celebrate God's greatness, and as a result, caused confusion and birthed evil.

Never forget, where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. There is a lot of envy in the world, and in the hearts of many men, Christians alike. Please allow Jesus to rid your heart of envy. Learn to be content and grateful with what you have. Have ambitions in life, but do not be intolerant towards another's success. Learn to celebrate another. We must consciously walk in love. The top is not crowded - there's a place for you there. Simply purge your heart of evil, be positive, cheerful and grateful in life. Above all, work hard and you will succeed, God being your help!

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