Jealous much?

Have you ever felt jealous of someone? Yes, we are switching lanes from talking about God’s beloved daughters. Today we are just going to have a conversation. So back to my question, each of us have felt jealous at least a few times in our lives. Say, when someone gets a new Rolls Royce La Rose Noire Droptail, if you have rich friends 😉 or when someone gets promoted, whatever the situation is.

Last week we looked at Philippians 2:3-5 which says, “Be free from pride-filled opinions, for they will only harm your cherished unity. Don’t allow self-promotion to hide in your hearts, but in authentic humility put others first and view others as more important than yourselves. Abandon every display of selfishness. Possess a greater concern for what matters to others instead of your own interests. And consider the example that Jesus, the Anointed One, has set before us. Let his mindset become your motivation.”

This week I was doing something for someone, super cryptic, I know. I don’t want to get too specific out on these internet streets! Anyway, I was doing something and I had a thought cross my mind about how much they have and I felt some type of way about it. So I went on a quest to find a verse on jealousy. I came across Philippians 2:3 CEV which says, “Don’t be jealous or proud, but be humble and consider others more important than yourselves.” My first thought was, “What does jealousy have to do with pride?” Everything.

See it’s not that I wanted what this person has. I just felt some type of way about them having it. I felt some type of way because on some level I thought they didn’t deserve it. Like I am more deserving, girl, sit down! That is the voice of pride speaking. It says, “If someone should have it, it should be me.” We may not say it in those words, but our hearts and minds are turned in that direction.

Which is why Philippians 2 says be free from pride filled opinions! Run away from jealous thoughts, they will bring division. Why does the enemy want us to look at something someone has and feel some type of way? Because we begin to operate in pride. James 4:6 NLT says, “And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

When we operate in pride it brings division because we are working in opposition to God. We put ourselves at odds with God when we let pride into our hearts. When we let jealousy fester in our hearts and minds, it leads to self promotion. We try to make things happen for ourselves. We take control of our lives from the hands of God and unbeknownst to us, we place it in the hands of the enemy. It may look good for a season, but the end result is destruction.

Philippians 2 gives us the remedy to jealous and intrusive thoughts, it says, “be humble and consider others more important than yourselves”. Our verse also tells us, “And consider the example that Jesus, the Anointed One, has set before us. Let his mindset become your motivation.” What is Jesus’ mindset? Verses 6-8 tell us it is all about humility and obedience to God. So, to fight jealousy, you need to humble yourself in submission to God and His plans for your life. In other words, you stay in your lane. We are not god over ourselves let alone other people. We don’t get to “decide” what they can or cannot have, what they do or do not deserve any more than we decide the same for our lives. We trust God and His plans for our lives, that He is good and does not withhold any good thing from those who do what is right, Psalm 84:11.  

Philippians also tells us to abandon every display of selfishness. Selfishness makes us self focused, in today’s lingo it makes us a Grade A narcissist or a walking red flag.

When we consider others as being better than ourselves, we won’t think they are any less deserving of what they have than we are of what we have. We see God’s love and grace working in their lives as much as it is working in our lives. When we possess a greater concern for what matters to others instead of our own interests, it puts us in a position where we can celebrate others, and the blessings God brings to their lives. We get to see God’s goodness find its expression in their lives and we celebrate that!

I have had to learn, just because God has blessed them does not mean He is not going to bless me. God is not a limited supply. What He has for me is for me and what He has for you is for you.

So next time you start feeling some type of way about someone being blessed or about what they have, remind yourself, humility is key and the quickest way out of those negative feelings is to genuinely celebrate what God is doing in another’s life. Don’t give the devil room to work in your life and in your relationships. Shut that door so through humility, godly unity and love can reign in your life and in your relationships.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.