We can’t escape envy, but we can accept God’s solution for it
By Dean Collins
“A feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck.” That’s Oxford Dictionary’s definition of envy. It’s a strong emotion. As believers, we know that envy (as well as its close cousin, jealousy) and its resulting behaviors are not the work of the Holy Spirit but rather are rooted in works of the flesh.
Envy does a lot of comparison. It is accompanied by insecurity. A person filled with envy will attack the person or thing they envy in a frantic effort to discredit the one with the “possessions, qualities, or luck” they wish they had for themselves.
Jesus saw the envy
In Mark 15 when the chief priests handed Jesus over to Pilate, they did so filled with self-righteousness. They were sure from their understanding of the law that Jesus was a blasphemer. Pilate did his questioning and analysis of the situation and determined that Jesus had done nothing wrong. He offered Barnabas in an attempt to satisfy the crowd, but the chief priests and others had stirred up the crowd to the point that nothing would satisfy them but the death of Jesus.
While Pilate was looking for options, Jesus “perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.” Unchecked envy is deadly. Pilate took a risk attempting to satisfy the envy and the taste for blood. He was right in assessing their emotions, but he lost the bet. The envy was focused on the One who threatened the chief priests’ power, lifestyle, and agenda. Their identity was wrapped up in a very closed view of God.
Mark said Jesus perceived it was out of envy. The Greek word for “know” used here is ginosko which refers to intimate knowledge. In the Gospel of John we read early in Jesus’ ministry that he “knew what was in man.” His intimate knowledge came from the fact that he was the creator of man who now was experiencing humanness. Jesus knew inside and out the ways, the hearts, and minds of men. His gut told him the envy was so strong that it could not be satisfied except through his death.
We know the solution for envy
We know what Jesus also knew: Not even death will satisfy the ways of the flesh. The beauty of the gospel is that through the the death of Jesus and his resurrection we have access to the one, the way, to have every work of the flesh destroyed.
The death of Jesus on the cross cancels our sin. When we surrender our lives to Jesus and are filled with his Spirit, we now have a helper and a source of power that is victorious over the flesh and is replaced by the fruit of the Spirit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
We will encounter envy
Because we live on earth, we will encounter people filled with envy. The enemy of God will at times plant seeds of envy that we must not allow to grow inside of us. Transformed people must choose one way to approach those who seek their harm. Paul described it in 2 Corinthians 5:14-21. We must invite the love of God to control us and compel us to treat people, even enemies, with the love of Christ. If we are in Christ then we are new creations. And we must view everyone with the eyes and heart of Jesus. He moves us to see people through his eyes and from a view that reminds us that God wants everyone to know him and to experience his life now and forever.
Because we are reconciled to God, we must seek that everyone has that same opportunity. We can do no less than consider that if Jesus didn’t harbor fear, anger, envy, jealously, or even hatred against humanity, then as his followers we can and must live by the same standard. The love of Christ compels us.
Your time with God’s Word
Mark 15:10-15; John 2:23-25; 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 ESV
Photo by Calvin Hanson at Unsplash
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