Image by mickleness from Pixabay
A thought hit me this morning – unusual, I know but it does happen occasionally. My daily reading took me into the early part of the story of Joseph. There was one line that really got me thinking;
His brothers were jealous of him
(Genesis 37 vs. 11)
It was RT Kendall who called jealousy “the sin no one talks about.”
I don’t know if you have ever had a pang of jealousy. You can physically feel it. It is like all of your insecurities suddenly rear their ugly little heads. When they die back, they leave in their wake feelings of guilt or shame. You tell yourself “I shouldn’t feel like this. I should be happy for them.” Inside, it is a different story as we feel rejected and overlooked again.
For Joseph’s brothers their jealousy is understandable. A father who loved Joseph more than them. Nothing they could do was ever right and, to be brutally honest, Joseph was a real pain in the neck. Arrogant, big headed and lacking in any humility. However, for the brothers, jealousy acted like a poison and it led them into a very dark place.
Jealousy acts like a poison on us too. We cover it up with phrases like “I am a driven person” or “I feel I need to prove myself” or even, “my career demands this level of commitment. We can even disguise our jealousy with, what we think of as, pure motives “I only want to give of my best.” However, beneath it is the lie of jealousy.
Like any poison, jealousy always leaves casualties. Our families, friendships and ourselves. Jealousy can lead to burnout, breakdowns, heartache and exhaustion. Jealousy can put a real pressure on our relationships and, in a worst case scenario, destroy them completely.
Do I ever get jealous? Sadly, yes I do. There are times when I have felt jealous of others “success.” I have felt jealous of others “popularity.” I have also felt the pain of feeling overlooked or rejected along with the guilt that jealousy can cause. I have experienced the heartache it can lead to.
From my experience, there is no easy answer to the problem of jealousy. At those moments when I feel that spark of jealousy arise, I remind myself of the words of Psalm 51 verse 6;
What you’re after is truth from the inside out.
(Psalm 51 vs. 6 – The Message)
God wants us to be honest and share with him the good, the bad and the ugly parts of our lives. I have come to understand that the anti-dote to the poison of jealousy is not humility, it is honesty. When we bring God into our feelings of hurt and pain we can experience his healing. As the writer of Proverbs says;
Peace of mind makes the body healthy, but jealousy is like a cancer.
(Proverbs 14 vs. 30)
Thanks Sean
Very helpful and honest.
David