Corinthians 13:4c
Ps Paul Cheng
~2 min read
Love envieth not (1 Corinthians 13:4c) Love envieth not mean love is not jealous. Someone describes jealousy very interestingly, “There are two kinds of jealousy. The first kind is “I want what someone else has. If he has a better house than mine, I want it! If he is successful, I want that success for myself!” That kind of jealousy is bad enough, but the second kind is even worse, “I wish he didn’t have what he had. This second kind of jealousy is more than just being selfish. It is desiring evil for someone else. It is jealousy at the most corrupt and destructive level!”
A classic example was found in 1 Kings 3:16-27, when King Solomon discovered the woman who pretended to be a child’s mother. When her infant son died, she secretly exchanged him for the baby of a friend who was staying with her. The true mother discovered what happened, and when their dispute was brought before the king, he ordered the baby to be cut in half. Each woman would receive half of the baby. The true mother pleaded for the baby to be spared, even if it meant losing possession of him. The false mother, however, would rather have the baby killed than for the true mother to have him. In other words, her attitude is, “If I cannot have it, neither can you.” That is jealousy at its worst!
Jealousy is a terrible sin, and it has plagued the people of God since the beginning of time. It was jealousy that caused Cain to kill his brother Abel, the first murder in the Bible. It was jealousy that caused Joseph’s brothers to sell him into slavery. It was jealousy that caused the Babylonian officials to have Daniel thrown into the lion’s den. It was jealousy that caused the elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son to be angry with his father for showing attention to his younger brother.
Jealousy is something that every Christian would have to fight against. There will always be someone who is better, cleverer or more successful than us. We face the temptation to be jealous when someone else does something better than us. The first reaction of the flesh is to have what that person has, and if this sinful passion is not controlled, it will escalate to the worst level, and that is, to wish evil for that person.
Dear friend, when someone else is getting all the opportunities, have you been thinking, “Why didn’t they ask me to do it? Why didn’t I get that opportunity?” Perhaps, you feel that you have worked harder than your colleague and you deserved to receive more than him, but he was the one who got the promotion. There is this boiling emotion in your heart whenever you see the person receiving all the attention. You cannot stand hearing anything good about him, and you cannot even bear being around him. That is jealousy!
Jealousy is something that others cannot see, but God sees. When we are jealous, we are not loving, and when we are not loving, it is sin. We must repent and ask the Lord to help change our hearts so that we can truly love the person who is popular, successful and talented, or does well in his work and studies, or has a big house in a better neighbourhood, or able to serve with many spiritual gifts. We are happy for the person and not jealous. Love envieth not!
With love in Christ,
Pastor Paul Cheng