Let us Repent of…Envy

Envy is a malignant cancer to the soul; it slowly eats away at every fibre of your body.

“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” – Proverbs 14:30 (NIV)

Envy gives rise to “every evil practice” for which we must repent…

Self-reliance, Self-assurance, Disobedience, The sin of our lips, Unbelief, Offense, Legalism, Judgment, Foolish behaviour, Gossip, Gluttony and Pride.

All are born out of some level of envy.

An envious person maligns his or her own dignity. His heart becomes a stronghold for the devil. He doesn’t “hunger and thirst for righteousness” instead he is consumed by what others have…

“You want what you don’t have, so you kill to get it. You long for what others have, and can’t afford it, so you start a fight to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it. And even when you do ask you don’t get it because your whole aim is wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.” – James 4:2-3 (TLB)

It is an excessive appetite for things, those things of the earth that cannot satisfy. An envious person drinks but their thirst for worldliness is never quenched. The more they see, the more they want.

Have you set up an idol of gold in your heart? Do you long for what others have and can’t afford it?

Envy walks hand-in-hand with covetousness. They are two sides of the same coin, and both are sin.

Have you heard of a man named Ahab? Ahab was a king, a king who coveted his neighbour Naboth’s vineyard and offered to buy it, but the vineyard was an inheritance, so Naboth declined the king’s offer. Long story short, Ahab’s wife seeing her husband’s distress over desiring something he could not have, devised a wicked plan which ended in Naboth being stoned to death. You can read about it in 1 Kings 21:1-16, however, please do not stop at verse 16, read all of chapter 21.

An envious person is a joyless person, living a life that is devoid of any kind of true contentment. Apostle Paul said that he had learned to be content under any circumstances. That’s because his contentment was not wrapped up or dependant on the material, his contentment wasn’t external but internal, it was through his relationship with Christ Jesus. Through Christ who gave him the strength to face whatever the situation.

Envy extinguishes the flame of joy in the soul.

King Ahab was greedy and that is the hallmark of envy. Like Judas, envious people foam at the mouth for greed. The king’s wife reacted to his greediness thinking up of a way that her husband’s hunger for another’s possession could be satisfied and then acted on that thought. Let’s look at what Jesus Himself said,

“Your souls aren’t harmed by what you eat, but by what you think and say!...For food doesn’t come in contact with your heart, but only passes through the digestive system.” (By saying this he showed that every kind of food is kosher.) And then he added, “It is the thought-life that pollutes. For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts of lust, theft, murder, adultery, wanting what belongs to others, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, pride, and all other folly.” – Mark 7:15 & 19-22 (TLB)

And James,

“For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” – James 3:16 (NIV)

Envy is rebellion against the Word; it is rebellion against God. Envy is not born from above but is an earthly construct that can lead to other deranged sinful behaviours.

“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” – Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV)

Sadly, there are those in church who stir up strife because they are uncomfortable when they see others comfortable, and troubled when others succeed. People who profess godliness should rejoice in the success of others, not be envious of another’s fame and fortune.

Following Apostle Paul’s lead, we must also learn to be “content whatever the circumstances, whether in abundance or in need” (Philippians 4:11-13). Instead, we covet and long for and wish for and we ask but we have no patience to wait upon God. Our eyes are so full, that we cannot see the promises of God.

Those who persist in their gluttonous pursuits will only end up partakers of the devil’s supper, where only two courses are served, weeping and gnashing of the teeth.

If you read all of 1 Kings 21, you would see that God intended to severely punish Ahab and his wife and sent the prophet Elijah to inform the king of their fate…

“…dogs shall lick your blood outside the city just as they licked the blood of Naboth!...the dogs of Jezreel shall tear apart the body of your wife, Jezebel” (verses 19 & 23 TLB)

Naboth’s blood, like Abel’s, after Cain murdered him out of envy, cried out. Whose blood is crying out because of your envy toward them?

Those who harbour envy, like king Ahab, are “completely sold out to the devil” (v 25 TLB)

Upon hearing God’s indictment, Ahab “tore his clothing, put on rags, fasted, slept in sackcloth, and went about in deep humility” (v 27 TLB). In other words, Ahab, filled with profound remorse over what he had done, and allowed his wife to do, repented.  

Beloved, it will never serve you to master an envious disposition. Root out envy with indignation and “rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” (1 Peter 2:1 NIV)

Today, let us take a good look at what is deep within, go to God, humble and broken, and let us repent of envy.

May God empty out His oil of Joy upon you and fill you with His Peace “which surpasses all understanding, (to) guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”.

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “Let us Repent of…Envy“ © April 5, 2025