The cure for the sin of envy and jealousy is to find our contentment in God.
Copied from The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, © 1996, p. 120. Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved.
Envy is a spirit of dissatisfaction or opposition to the prosperity or happiness of other people.
Envy (phthonos) is a desire to deprive others of what is rightfully theirs, to wish they did not have it or had it to a lesser degree…[it] is closely related to jealousy.
Philippians, Moody, 2001, p. 63.
The longer we serve in ministry, the more we see that pretty much everyone is envying everyone else. It is really pitiful. None of us has the circumstances we really want, and the circumstances we have always provide us with challenges. What a shame it is when we allow such envy and resentment to hinder the Christian fellowship that ought to be one of our chief blessings in this life (Richard and Sharon Phillips).
Holding Hands and Holding Hearts, P&R, 2006, p. 166. Used by Permission.
Envy is not a synonym for jealousy. Synonyms can be used interchangeably; envy and jealousy can’t. If you don’t believe me, try substituting the word “envious” for “jealous” in the phrase: “For I the Lord your God am a jealous God.” Jealousy is possessive and protective; it can be good or bad. God’s jealousy – His possessiveness of His people – is a good thing; it protects us from being plucked out of His hand.
Envy and Kindness, Tabletalk, May 2008, p. 21, Used by Permission.
[Envy] looks like Joseph’s brothers and Potiphar’s wife plotting to destroy a righteous man; it looks like Haman trying to frame Mordecai; and it looks like the Pharisees seeking to kill Jesus… It looks like Jacob conniving to steal the birthright from Esau; it looks like Rachel begrudging Leah her children; it looks like Peter pointing at John and asking Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?”
Envy and Kindness, Tabletalk, May 2008, p. 20-21, Used by Permission.
[Envy is] frustrated self-exaltation fueled by animosity, resentment, and defensiveness.
Envy and Kindness, Tabletalk, May 2008, p. 20, Used by Permission.
Envy is acquisitive, resentful, and selfish; it is always bad. It wants what others have simply because they have it, bears grudges against those who have what it doesn’t, and accuses God of being unfair.
Envy and Kindness, Tabletalk, May 2008, p. 21, Used by Permission.
How much of hell is there in the temper of an envious man! The happiness of another is his misery; the good of another is his affliction. He looks upon the virtue of another with an evil eye, and is as sorry at the praise of another as if that praise were taken away from himself. Envy makes him a hater of his neighbor, and his own tormentor.
A Discourse Concerning Love, 1684.
Can you serve your boss and others at work, helping them to succeed and be happy, even when they are promoted and you are overlooked? Can you work to make others look good without envy filling your heart? Can you minister to the needs of those whom God exalts and men honor when you yourself are neglected? Can you pray for the ministry of others to prosper when it would cast yours in the shadows?
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 1991, p. 122, Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com, All rights reserved. For more information please see the website www.BibicalSpirituality.org. Get this book!
