Green Is Not Your Color

CHAPTER 6: JEALOUSY Proverbs 27:4 “Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?”

The Bible talks about envy being as cruel as the grave (Song of Solomon 8:6c). The very spirit of jealousy brings about confusion and discord. People that are envious will not inherent the kingdom of God, because they do not have the love of Christ shed abroad in their hearts (1 Corinthians 6:10). Yet, envy is very much felt in the body of Christ. Jealousy can start from something good, but can lead into something carnal (of the flesh), when we give room to the enemy. There are people who desire to do so much for God, yet they are operating outside of His will. For example, I have a desire to make a gospel album but, I know that God did not call me to do so. Nevertheless, just because I have a passion to carry out many functions, does not give me a right to maneuver in them. If I am so busy working in an area that the Lord did not assign me to, then I am neglecting the talents that the Lord has given me to fulfill His purpose for my life as an ambassador for the kingdom of heaven (read Matt. 25:14-30). It seems that when people work in a ministry that we have a desire to operate in, jealousy peaks its ugly head up in our hearts. Now, let us take this jealousy thing a little deeper. Jealousy can either be provoked by God (Romans 10:19; 11:11) or the devil (1st Cor. 3:3). There is a difference between godly jealousy (2nd Cor. 11:2a) and carnal jealousy (jealousy stemming from the sin nature, the flesh). When my mother and I were seeking the gift of the Holy Spirit, we were on a fast with our church congregation. On Thursday night, I went to church by myself, because my mother had some other obligations to attend to. That night, I prayed with a couple of ministers, and God blessed me to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. When I arrived home, I informed my mother that I was now a Holy Ghost filled believer. Glory be to God! The first thing that she said was, “I’m so happy for you! I’m going to church tomorrow.” When Friday night rolled around, we were excited about how God was going to move in the service. When I saw the pastor that night, he asked me, “Did your mom get godly jealous when you told her that you received the Holy Ghost?” I replied, “She sure did!” Before the night was over, my mother was filled with God’s Spirit. Now, carnal jealousy, or jealousy evoked by our sin nature, is completely of the devil. For instance, if someone in the church is an ordained minister and you too, but you may not get as much time preaching as the other minister does, the devil will start talking to you. He may say things such as: “Why are they always preaching? They probably think that their calling is higher than yours. They are closer to the pastor than you are, that’s why they get to preach so often. You’re not being used in this ministry like you should, go to another one.” If you listen to what the adversary is trying to plant in your mind, and you do not rebuke him by the Word of God, you will fall into his schemes. When the devil starts talking to us, we have to speak God’s Word against his lies, or we will begin to believe what he is saying to us (Matt. 4:1-11). Zechariah 3:1-2 says, “1 And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist (oppose) him. 2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” We have to rebuke the devil in the precious and mighty name of Jesus or we will allow him to sow seeds of unrighteousness in our hearts, minds, and spirits. The Bible gives us another example of jealousy provoked by the devil. If you have read the story about Saul and David, you can witness the actions caused by a root of jealousy. During the time that Saul was king over Israel, David was a servant and mighty warrior. King Saul loved David dearly, at first; but that love soon turned to that of hate and envy. When Saul and David would go to battle, Saul would kill many of his enemies, but David always killed more people than the king. And because David killed more enemies than king Saul, he became jealous of David. The Bible says in 1st Samuel 18:6-11, “6 And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music. 7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. 8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? 9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward. 10 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. 11 And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it.