For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. –James 3:16
Last January I indulged and became the proud owner of an iPhone. It’s a beautiful thing, and it changed my life in ways that I never expected. To be honest, I had been lusting after it for a long time, and when I finally got it I was thrilled. That was until last week. Last week Apple announced a new iPhone, and friends began posting annoying little messages on Facebook about how they were expecting to receive theirs in the coming weeks. I, however, am not. My contract is too new, and so I’m stuck with iPhone envy for the second time in my life. The not-so-nice word for “envy” is really “jealousy.” The marketers in the US are geniuses at making us jealous, aren’t they? They parade new products in front of us, and they get our friends to indulge. Suddenly, we want something that we were somehow able to live without for years and years and years. And we find ourselves feeling jealous. But jealousy doesn’t end there. People are jealous of jobs that others have, of the families others maintain, and of so many other things. The world teaches us to be jealous, but God calls us away from such “vile” practices. See, a jealous heart is really a dissatisfied heart. When we believe that God is our provider and that He gives us all that He wants, then jealousy dissipates. As long as we allow jealousy to take over our thoughts, however, we buy into the lie that God is withholding something good from us. What is that thing you want so badly? That thing that makes you jealous of someone else? Take a few minutes to offer that desire to the Lord, and remember that He is the One who cares for your needs.
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