THE BLINDNESS OF ENVY

Envy is often called the green-eyed monster; but I feel it should more properly be called the blind-eyed monster: because of its blind, self-destructive nature.

Envy focuses you on what you don’t have and blinds you to what you DO have. Take the case of Saul and David.

And the women sang to one another as they played, and said, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. (1Sa 18:7)

First of all, observe the ill-advised wordings of the women’s song. Don’t they know that such comparison would irritate the king? This is something we need to watch out for. Even though you live your life minding your own business, you still have to watch out for the odd misplaced comment here and there that unnecessarily compares you with another companion. Saul fell for this trap because he wasn’t expecting such crude comparison between a king and his servant.

Secondly, this comparison blinded him to the fact that he was just as much a successful warrior as David was. Up to that time, he had not lost a single battle, but he allowed envy blind him to that fact.

Blind envy will lead a person to commit the unthinkable... and in the extreme case of the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, the Unpardonable! Being more intimate with the scriptures than the people, they knew who Jesus was, but moved with envy (Jn 11:47) they opposed his miracles, and ended up in damnation (Mk 3:28-30).

Indeed, the rejection of the Gospel by the Jewish leaders, (which resulted in the wholesale shift of focus to us Gentiles), wasn’t – as many presume – because they were zealous about the Old Covenant of Moses, but because they were envious of the popularity of the Apostles, (Acts 13: 13- 52; 17:5).

But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another, (Gal 5:15).

May we be sensitive to this evil so that we do not become blinded by it and inflict damage on ourselves, our families and our destinies.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN