The Cure for an Empty Life

"... love does not envy..." 1 Corinthians 13:4

The word "love" is better translated "charity," referring to love in action, but the idea is the same. An envious Christian is lacking in love. And the entire context of 1 Corinthians 13 is that the actions of a person without charity are in vain.

Envy is sometimes the result of an empty life. Surprisingly, the cure for an empty life is "charity." When you put love into action, you'll find things to do that will make your life worthwhile.

When You Succeed

Ecclesiastes 4:4 Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

A few months ago, a couple who had failed in starting an animal shelter began posting signs attacking the owner of the successful animal shelter where I volunteer. I pointed out to him that this is normal; success produces envy.

If you succeed in Christian service, you will be the target of envy. Period. It's automatic.

Some folks have been trying to contact me. My e-mail is Threeofu@hotmail.com

Dealing With Your Own Envy

Genesis 37:11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Joseph had the special love of his father, largely due to being the son of Jacob's deceased favorite wife. Could his brothers have done anything "right" about it? Later, some of them did excel, and were praised by Jacob on his deathbed.

Hatred was the wrong response; serving God diligently was the right response.

How God Destroys Envy

Psalm 106:
16 When they envied Moses in the camp, And Aaron the saint of the LORD,
17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan, And covered the faction of Abiram.
18 A fire was kindled in their company; The flame burned up the wicked.

God recognizes the power of envy to destroy His work. It is, of course, possible for a person gripped with envy to repent, and God may well have worked in the hearts of these men before He finally destroyed them. But if that doesn't work, God still has a cure: the destruction of the envious.

If you see someone being blessed by God more than you, you can turn to envy. Or you can ask the person for advice on how to obtain God's blessings.

The Sin of Envy

Some time ago, I did a study on Jealousy and Envy. I was surprised to learn that modern psychology defines both terms the way that the King James Version does.

"Jealousy" is not that big of a Biblical problem. It means "I have something and you don't, and I'm afraid that you will take it from me." King Saul was jealous that David would take his throne, but the word is usually used to describe God.

"Envy" means "You have something and I don't, and I feel that it should be mine." Envy gets a lot more space in God's Word than jealousy, and it is described as more serious, both to the person being envied, as well as the person doing the envying.

I'll be doing a Bible study on envy over the next few weeks.

Should You Trust a Compromiser?

A fellow who had graduated from a good fundamentalist college became an elder in a compromising church. When modernists tried to seize the church, he held on for a while. But when people started leaving, he made a deal with another church. If they would give him a leadership position, he would go to the second church, bringing some people with him.

The deal went through, and he holds a leadership position there now. Folks, you just can't trust a compromiser.