This is the manuscript of the third sermon in the "7 Deadly Sins" series.
There is no list of seven deadly sins in the Bible because the Bible says that all sins are deadly.
Romans 3:23 NIV for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 NIV For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rather than specific sins this is a list of categories of sin. Every sin that a person commits fits one of these categories which are inward attitudes that affect character and conduct. Although these sins are never listed together in any single passage, they are continually condemned in Scripture.
Pride
Anger (Wrath)
Envy (Jealousy)
Impurity (Lust)
Gluttony (Lack of Self-Restraint)
Slothfulness (Laziness)
Avarice (Greed)
Two weeks ago, we talked about pride which, I believe, is the beginning of all sin, and then last week we talked about anger which if not controlled is a sign of weakness, which can lead to personal harm, rob you of self-esteem, can impair our thinking or attitudes, can lead to evil actions.
Like the sins of pride and anger, envy, or jealousy is an all-too-common sin. Few of us can completely escape it. It creeps into our relationships and destroys our confidence in ourselves and in others.
Proverbs 14:30 NIV A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
- Envy is the least understandable of the seven deadly sins.
- There is never any justification for envy.
- Envy takes away the joy of living.
Scripture
1 Peter 2:1-12 NIV Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Introduction
Today we are going to talk about envy or jealousy which is the third of the 7 deadly sins in the list compiled by Pope Gregory I in about 600 AD.
Rather than specific sins this is a list of categories of sin. Every sin that a person commits fits one of these categories which are inward attitudes that affect character and conduct. Although these sins are never listed together in any single passage, they are continually condemned in Scripture.
Remember there is no list of seven deadly sins in the Bible because the Bible says that all sins are deadly.
Romans 3:23 NIV for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 NIV For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The complete list is
Pride
Anger (Wrath)
Envy (Jealousy)
Impurity (Lust)
Gluttony (Lack of Self-Restraint)
Slothfulness (Laziness)
Avarice (Greed)
Two weeks ago, we talked about pride which, I believe, is the beginning of all sin, and then last week we talked about anger which if not controlled is a sign of weakness, which can lead to personal harm, rob you of self-esteem, can impair our thinking or attitudes, can lead to evil actions.
As I said before, today we are going to talk about envy or jealousy.
Text: Proverbs 14:30 NIV A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
Envy and jealousy are very similar.
Envy is most often used to refer to a covetous feeling toward another person’s attributes, possessions, or stature in life. Many people use jealousy to mean the same thing as envy. “I am envious of his good fortune” could be changed to “I am jealous of his good fortune” without really changing the meaning of the sentence for most people.
When we use the word “jealous,” we use it in the sense of being envious of someone who has something we do not have. A person might be jealous or envious of another person because he or she has a nice car or home or other possessions. Or a person might be jealous or envious of another person because of some ability or skill that person has (singing or playing an instrument, or athletics). Another example would be that one person might be jealous or envious of another because of his or her looks, or physique.
Jealousy, envy, is complex and it can be defined as a feeling of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. It can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness, or disgust.
Jealousy can be triggered by a variety of factors, including:
The perception that a third party is a threat to a valued relationship
Feelings of insecurity or low self-esteem.
Past experiences of betrayal or abandonment.
Cultural or societal norms that emphasize exclusivity in relationships.
Jealousy can manifest in a variety of ways, including:
Emotional reactions like: Anger, sadness, fear, anxiety, guilt, shame.
Behavioral reactions like: Accusations, controlling behavior, possessiveness, withdrawal, aggression.
Physical reactions like: Increased heart rate, sweating, trembling, nausea
When I use the word jealous or envy, and I may use either one of them, in this sermon, what I am talking about is, “a covetous feeling toward another person’s attributes, possessions, or stature in life”.
Now I don’t want us to get confused because the Bible says that God says He is a jealous God, and I don’t want you to think that God is jealous or envious because someone has something He wants or needs.
Exodus 20:4-6 NIV “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
God is jealous when someone gives to another, something that rightly belongs to Him.
In those verses, from Exodus, God is speaking of people making idols and bowing down and worshiping those idols instead of giving Him the worship that belongs to Him alone. God is possessive of the worship and service that belong to Him. It is a sin, as God points out in this commandment, to worship or serve anything other than Him.
It is a different use of the word “jealous” when God says He is jealous. What He is jealous of belongs to Him; worship and service belong to Him alone and are to be given to Him alone.
Here’s a practical example that will help us understand the difference. If a husband sees another man flirting with his wife, he is right to be jealous, because only he has the right to flirt with his wife. This type of jealousy is not sinful. It is entirely appropriate.
Being jealous for something that God declares to belong to you is good and appropriate. Jealousy is a sin when it is a desire for something that does not belong to you. Worship, praise, honor, and adoration belong to God alone, for only He is truly worthy of it. Therefore, God is rightly jealous when worship, praise, honor, or adoration is given to an idol which could be a person or some possession.
Now that we understand the difference between God being jealous and man being envious or jealous let me get back to what I want to share today.
Like the sins of pride and anger, envy, jealousy is an all-too-common sin. Few of us can completely escape it. It creeps into our relationships and destroys our confidence in ourselves and in others.
When a person says “I don’t have a jealous bone in my body” it is more often talk than reality.
There are many examples of envy and jealousy in the Bible. King Saul was jealous of David’s growing popularity.
1 Samuel 18:6-9 NLT When the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals. This was their song: “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands!” This made Saul very angry. “What’s this?” he said. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!” So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
Joseph felt the jealousy of his brothers.
Genesis 37:3-4, NIV Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Jesus also was a victim of jealousy.
Mark 15:9-10 CEV Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to free the king of the Jews?” Pilate knew that the chief priests had brought Jesus to him because they were jealous.
Here’s what I want us to see today.
Envy is the least understandable of the seven deadly sins.
There is never any justification for envy.
Envy takes away the joy of living.
First, envy is the least understandable of the seven deadly sins.
A. Envy has no rewards!
It does not make your position or status more secure. In fact, jealousy destroys relationships without ensuring that your own status can be improved. Envy is never satisfied. There is no profit from envy.
B. Envy grows out of fear.
When a person is jealous, they are afraid that another person’s success means they will not be successful. There's mistrust and suspicion which can become fear. The kind of fear that invades marriage, family, the marketplace, school, professions, and the church. Church history reveals persecution and death by people who felt their status was threatened.
The Spanish Inquisition stemmed from the Christians' fear that the growing Jewish population would become more powerful than them. The Jews were a threat to the monarchy, and the Catholic Monarchs saw the Inquisition as a way to root out the source of one of their biggest problems
C. Envy creates a resentful spirit.
A person who has a happy marriage, successful employment, and intelligent children may be the target of jealousy. A sister may hate a brother because he does well in school; an employee may dislike another employee who gets a promotion; a church member may resent another Christian’s being selected for the office of deacon.
We sometimes get envious because of the gift(s) the Holy Spirit gives a Christian brother or sister. We actually talked about this a couple of weeks ago in Bible Study. The fact is that we are all brothers and sisters in the same family, the family of God. Our father gives us all gifts. Some get more gifts than others. Some get gifts that some of us think are more important than others, but remember this.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11, NIV There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
27-31 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.
What is that most excellent way? It's in the next chapter
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NIV If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
II. There is never any justification for envy.
A. This point is seen continually in the Scripture.
David did not pursue the throne of King Saul, yet Saul let envy grow to the point where it blinded his judgment and his relationship to God.
1 Samuel 18:6-9 NIV 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 timbrels and lyres. As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” 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.
David was willing to be a loyal and faithful servant. There was no justification for Saul’s jealous rage.
Even when David had the chance to kill Saul, twice, he didn’t.
He had the opportunity in a cave where he and his men were hiding:
1 Samuel 24:1-5 NIV After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’ ” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe.
6-7 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.
He had another opportunity when he and one of his men actually sneaked into a place where Saul and his men were camping.
1 Samuel 26:6-10 NIV David then asked Ahimelek the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down into the camp with me to Saul?” “I’ll go with you,” said Abishai. So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him. Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won’t strike him twice.” But David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless? As surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “the Lord himself will strike him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish.
11 But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let’s go.”
If David had killed Saul, most would have called it self-defense.
B. Here’s another example of unjustified envy.
Jesus would have willingly spread the Christian message through the Pharisees, but they were envious of His popularity.
The Pharisees religious knowledge could have been extremely useful. Yet their jealousy kept them from being used by God. Eventually the ugly envy in the hearts of the religious leaders led them to create false charges against Jesus and deliver him to Pilate.
Everywhere Jesus went, He attracted huge throngs, multitudes, crowds pressing around to listen to His every word, watching His every move. He was profoundly popular among the people, in contrast the rulers of the Jews who laid heavy burdens on their people. Jesus was even freely associated with people who the Pharisees looked down on.
The people loved Jesus, and they received Him gladly, but what they felt from the Pharisees was judgment. The Pharisees saw Jesus associating with the common people and saw them cheering Him, loving Him. They couldn’t stand it because they were envious and suspicious of His popularity.
Let’s go back to a scripture we read earlier, this time from the NLT
Mark 15:3-10 NLT Then the leading priests kept accusing him of many crimes, and Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer them? What about all these charges they are bringing against you?” But Jesus said nothing, much to Pilate’s surprise. Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner—anyone the people requested. One of the prisoners at that time was Barabbas, a revolutionary who had committed murder in an uprising. The crowd went to Pilate and asked him to release a prisoner as usual. “Would you like me to release to you this ‘King of the Jews’?” Pilate asked. (For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.)
Yet Jesus loved the Jewish leaders and would have rejoiced in their salvation. He meant them no harm. Their jealousy was unjustified.
III. Envy takes away the joy of living.
A. King Saul became a madman.
Let's go back again to 1 Samuel 18 and let's start at verse 8
1 Samuel 18:8-11 NLT This made Saul very angry. “What’s this?” he said. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!” So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David. The very next day a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave in his house like a madman. David was playing the harp, as he did each day. But Saul had a spear in his hand, and he suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David escaped him twice.
Finally, with his son dead and his enemies surrounding him, Saul committed suicide.
1 Samuel 31:1-4 NIV Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically. Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.” But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it.
The joy of life had long since departed Saul because of his jealousy.
B. Envy isolates you
Envy plants the mindset that causes people to see life in a resentful manner. The book of Esther tells the story of jealousy. It is the history of a man named Haman whose jealousy of the Jews centered on the Jewish leader Mordecai.
Esther 3:1-6 NIV After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor. Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew. When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.
Haman became obsessed with hatred, and his hatred led to deceit and a desire to enhance his own status with the king. By the strange twist of God’s hand on history, Haman was hanged on the very gallows he built for Mordecai.
Read chapters 5,6, and 7 of Esther for the entire incident and you will see what happened to Haman and how his plot to get rid of Mordecai, because he was envious of him and his favor with the king, was turned on him.
Here’s the end of the story.
Esther 7:9-10 NIV Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.” The king said, “Impale him on it!” So, they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.
Haman was trapped by his own envy.
C. Happiness and contentment are two qualities we all of seek in life.
But our text, Proverbs 14:30, tells us that envy is the opposite of contentment.
Proverbs 14:30 NIV A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
Conclusion
Since envy and jealousy constantly stalk humanity, we must constantly guard our hearts against their destructive power. They do not enhance our status and often cause us to lose more than we gain. We are not at peace. The only way to have lasting peace and be free of envy and jealousy is through Jesus The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 NIV For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Prayer
Father God, thank you for setting us apart as your children. It is not because we are perfect on our own but because of your unconditional love. We come before you today to ask you to make us humble. We are all your children, and you don't show any of us any special treatment. Remind us that we are not better than anyone else. If there is any jealousy or in our hearts, Father, I ask you to remove them and enable us to love others with Christ-like love. In Jesus’ name, we believe and pray Amen.
Sermon Audio
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