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THE HEAVENLY CHURCH
Envy: One of The Seven Deadly Sins

In Galatians 5:21, envy is listed as one of the works of the flesh.
Psalm 139:
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
Point out anything in me that offends you,
And lead me along the path of everlasting life.
In order for us to become more like Jesus Christ, we are going to have to figure out how to deal with the sin that’s in our lives.

1. What is Envy?
I think it’s important for us to draw a distinction between envy and jealousy. We tend to think of those two words as meaning pretty much the same thing, but there are two different Greek words found in the Bible – one which is translated “envy”, and the other which is translated “jealousy” – and they actually have different meanings. And envy is the worse of the two sins.

Here’s the difference. Jealousy says, “I’m jealous that you got a new iPhone.” What we mean by that is that I’d like to have one, too. And if I get one, I’m happy.

Jealousy says, “I want what you have.” But envy says, “Not only do I want what you have, but I also don’t want you to have it. I want it to have it instead of you having it.”

If I am jealous, then I can be happy as long as I can acquire this thing that I want. But if I am envious, I can only be happy if I can take that thing away from you. And if I can’t do that, I will at least be happy if you lose it.

What that means is that envy is not really concerned about that possession. Envy is more concerned with the honour or status or worth that goes along with having that possession. If an envious person wants something, it is because that object symbolizes or signifies its owner’s position.

For example, suppose you love cars. You especially appreciate the quality that goes into making certain cars. And you have your eye on a certain BMW that your neighbour is driving, because you love the driving performance of this particular model. You would love to have that car. That’s not envy. It’s jealousy, but it’s not envy.

But if you want the newest model of the BMW because it will make you feel superior to your neighbour, who just bought an older version of BMW, that would be envy. Anything but to be the only one in the neighbourhood still driving the latest and most expensive car.

But notice, it’s not the car that makes us envious, so much as what being the owner of that car says about who we are. It’s about the personal respect and admiration that we command when we drive up in that car. We don’t envy the car. Rather, we envy the superiority, the classiness of a person who drives that kind of car. Getting the car is just a way to be seen as the person we want to be seen as.

And not to have the car is not just to lack that thing, but it is to be less of a person, to be deficient in some way. To fail to receive that thing makes the envier feel less admirable, less worthy as a person.

Let me give you a biblical example, because we see this in the Jewish leaders and their attitude toward Jesus. Matthew 27:18 tells us that Pilate recognized that “it was because of envy that they had delivered him up.” You see, the Jewish leaders saw that Jesus had the respect of the people and they were envious of him.

They weren’t just jealous. It wasn’t just that they wanted more respect from the people. They were envious, because they saw that Jesus had the respect of the people and they wanted to take it away from him.

That’s why jealousy is sometimes a bad quality in the scriptures, but sometimes it’s a good quality. Jealousy simply means you want something very, very much. And as long as what you want is good thing, then there’s nothing wrong with wanting it. That’s why God is described as a jealous God. He wants a relationship with us more than anything else. So jealousy can sometimes be a good thing, but envy is always sinful.

Envy doesn’t like to see others achieve recognition or prominence, and it will do whatever it can to bring the other person down. An envious person is a lot like a crab. If crabs are caught by a fisherman in his basket and one starts to climb out, the other crabs will reach up and pull it back into the basket.
Envious people wants everyone else to be as unsuccessful as they are.
If I am envious, I can only be happy if I can take that thing away from you. And if I can’t do that, I will at least be happy if you lose it.

You may be thinking to yourself, envy is not one of those sins that I struggle with. That’s what I thought also until God revealed to me just how deeply ingrained envy is in our lives. Lets see if you can discover envy is your life as we go on.

2. Why Are We Envious?

At the very root of envy is the need to compare ourselves with others. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:12 (NCV), “We do not dare to compare ourselves with those who think they are very important. They use themselves to measure themselves, and they judge themselves by what they themselves are.”
And that’s what envy does. The bottom line for an envious person is how he stacks up against other people, because he measures his self-worth comparatively.
A good example of this comes from the story of Snow White. You remember how the Evil Queen stands in front of the mirror and wants to know, “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Who’s the fairest of them all?” And for a while, the mirror on the wall tells the Evil Queen that she is the most beautiful woman in the world.

But one day, the mirror informs her that Snow White has blossomed into the most beautiful woman in the world. And the Evil Queen goes into a rage. Because it’s not enough for her to be viewed as a beautiful woman. She can’t deal with being seen as less beautiful than someone else. It’s all about the comparison.

But it doesn’t just happen in fairy tales. Cain didn’t like the fact that God favoured Abel’s sacrifice over his own, so envy led him to kill his brother. Joseph’s brothers didn’t like the fact that Jacob loved Joseph more than he loved them, so envy led them to sell Joseph off as a slave. Rachel didn’t like the fact that Leah was held in higher regard because she had children, and so she got envious. King Saul couldn’t stand the fact that women were singing the song, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” (1 Samuel 18:7).

It’s not enough for an envious person to say, “I am good.” He feels the need to say, “I am better.” All of us have a need to be loved and found worthy, but an envious person makes attaining this love and worth a comparative game.

How many times do we see this in the apostles? Several times we read that “A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.” (Luke 22:24). They didn’t want to be viewed as “great”. They wanted to be seen as the “the greatest”. They felt the need to compare themselves with all of the other apostles and come out on top.

That’s why the strategy of envy is not just to get something for yourself, but to take down the person you envy. Envy’s view of the world is essentially antagonistic: it’s me-versus-you. If you are “up here” and I am “down here”, there’s only two ways I can get on the same level with you. I can raise myself up, but that’s a lot of work. Or I knock you down, which is a whole lot easier.

So what are some of the ways that we knock others down? Let me suggest some ways that envy can demonstrate itself. See if you can relate to any of these in your life:

• Envy feels offended at the talents, successes, or good fortune of others.
It’s very difficult to rejoice over somebody who does exactly what you do, but does it better.
• Envy feels a rivalry and competition.
Let me suggest that if you have a “competitive spirit”, you probably struggle with envy.
• Envy takes pleasure at other’s difficulties or distress;
A footballer is injured and his second takes his place on the pitch, the coach suddenly discovers that the one always on the bench is even better than his first choice, by the time the first choice returns from injury he realises that he has been replaced. He starts thinking a lot of terrible things in a situation like that as he sit on the bench. Even though he’s on your team, you want him to flub up and commit errors. Even worse, you wish that he would break his leg or something.
• Envy will assume the worst about others’ behaviours.
• Envy will belittle others and make false accusations;
• Envy will engage in backbiting (saying something bad behind someone’s back) or slander (saying something bad about someone in the open);
• Envy loves to gossip;
• Envy will arouse and foster antagonism against others;
• Envy will engage in teasing, bullying or ridicule.
• Envy will show prejudice against anyone whom we consider to be inferior, or those who consider us to be inferior, or those who seem to threaten our security or position.

There is a progression in this list, because sometimes envy involves what we think about, sometimes it’s how we feel, and sometimes it’s what we say and what we do. Envy tends to start out secretly (in fact, envy would prefer to accomplish its goal without being noticed), but if it is unsuccessful, the bitterness and resentment will grow. If it goes unchecked, envy will eventually lead to a full-scale hatred of a rival.

I Corinthians 13:4 says that “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast.” It should be obvious that the fundamental attitude of an envious person is directly opposed to love. If we love someone, then we want only good things for them and we rejoice when those good things happen.

As Paul tells us in Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” But envy can’t bring itself to rejoice with those we view as our competitors. Envy weeps when good things happen to their rival, and envy rejoices when bad things happen.

And though it seems extreme, envy can eventually lead even to murder. You see it with Cain and Abel. You see it in the book of Esther where King Ahasuerus rewards Mordecai for saving his life. He puts Mordecai on a royal horse wearing a royal robe and leads him through the streets of the city. And that drove Haman absolutely crazy. He was so envious that he determined to do everything in his power to have Mordecai and all the other Jews killed.

And even if envy doesn’t lead to murder, it almost always causes strife. In fact, every passage in the New Testament that tells us not to be envious connects it with strife. “Let us walk….not in strife and envy.” (Romans 13:13). You see the same connection in James 3 and 1Corinthians 3.

But of all the things that happen as result of envy, perhaps the worst thing is what it does to the person who is envious.
When you think about it, it makes sense. Envy is probably the only sin that’s no fun. Think about it. If you lust after someone, it leads to some temporary pleasure. If you are guilty of gluttony, that can bring a lot of pleasure. But who enjoys envy, even for a moment? All envy does is make you miserable as you compare yourself to others and find yourself lacking. And the more envious you are, the sadder you become.

3. Who Do We Envy?
Let us consider who it is that we envy, because we aren’t envious of everybody, just certain people. And if we think about the people we envy, and why we envy them in particular, there’s a pattern that emerges.

Enviers don’t usually envy those who are very far removed from their own lives and lifestyles. That is to say, they don’t envy those who are vastly more talented or successful than they are. They tend to envy people that they think others will compare them to, people who are pretty much like them—only better.

Let me give you an example. When I read about Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo as the GOATS of football, you do not feel even a little bit of a twinge of envy. Because you’re inferior to them, you’re not envious because you don’t have to worry about anybody comparing you to them. Nobody has ever said, “Come on, Idahtonye, you can play better than these GOATS.”

Now if there’s another online preacher that people listen to and i hear them say, that guy is better than Pepple, his preaching is bomb. Now, the temptation to envy begins to take hold of me. Because the more they talk about how good he is, the more inadequate I feel by comparison. (I’m just using this to make example, my brethren, I envy no one, the gospel of Christ is to draw men to God, the more your gospel win souls for God, the happier I become. We are all workers in God’s vine yard).

If you read English and Literature in the university, you won’t be envious of a writer who wins the Nobel Prize for Literature, but you will very much be tempted to envy if you turn in a term paper that gets a B, but one of your friends gets an A.

If you are one of those people who defines yourself by your career status and your earning power, you will not find yourself being envious of Dangote or Siminialaye Fubara. But you will very much be tempted to envy the fellow who works in the same office with you who just got a salary increase. We only envy those whom we wish to rival or surpass in reputation.

William Willimon calls envy a “small town sin” because it’s a by-product of living so close to people with whom we make comparisons.

4. How Do We Overcome Envy?
Well, let’s close by looking at the most important question about envy. If envy is something that you struggle with, how do you overcome it? And the solution isn’t just to say don’t do it. Once we understand why we envy (to feel a greater sense of self-worth), then we realize that the only way to avoid this sin is to find a completely different foundation for our self-worth.

Someone has said that making the transition out of envy into love is like making the transition from courtship to marriage. The premise of courtship is that you have got to outdo the competition to win your fiancée’s affection and secure that relationship. But once you’re married, it’s no longer a competition. You know that you are loved, and you can feel secure in that love.

Envy depends on a comparative self-value. The worth of the envious—at least from their perspective—is conditional on out-doing their competitors. Envy is joined to the comparing of a man’s self; and where there is no comparison, [there is] no envy.

And so, to overcome envy, we need to develop a view of ourselves where our sense of worth and our value is not dependent on what other people think about us. God says in Isaiah 43, “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. . . . You are precious in my eyes, and honoured, and I love you.” (Isaiah 43:1,4)

We are loved already, unconditionally — not because of our moral worthiness, our attractiveness, our worldly achievements — but simply because we are God’s children. We all need that kind of love. And that is exactly how God loves us.

Jesus in the gospels—especially in Luke’s account—makes a point of affirming and lifting up those who lack status or worth, those who were considered low in the social rankings of that day. And his love for them wasn’t based on performance or special qualities. It was an undeserved gift given to them just as they were.

Meanwhile, the Pharisees continued to compare themselves. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus tells about the brother who goes off and wastes his inheritance, but then he come home and his father throws a big party. And, of course, the older brother is upset. He “was angry and would not go in” (Luke 15:28). Why? Because he was envious. His brother was getting all the attention that he deserved. He says to his father, basically, “It’s obvious you love him more than you love me. You never threw a party for me.”

And the response of the father is to say, “Son, you are always with me.” “You’re my son. I love you. This is not a competition. You don’t need to compare yourself with your brother. You are special to me.”

The message is that God loves me for myself — not for anything I have, not for my beauty or intelligence or righteousness or for any other “qualification, but simply in the way that a good mother loves the fruit of her womb. If I can get that into my head — or better, into my heart — then I won’t be grasping desperately for self-esteem at the expense of others.

Conclusion:
“when we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive us.” (1 John 1:9)

So, I wonder, is there anywhere in your life where envy has taken hold? Is there anywhere that you feel the need to compare yourself with others to feel valued? Because the more you compare yourself with others, the more tempted you will be to have envy in your heart. Is there anything you do to make others look bad just so that you look better?

Let Us Pray
This week, may your prayer be: “Search me, O Lord, and see if there is any envy in my heart.”

This sermon is organised by “The Heavenly Church” and produced once a week.

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Peace be on to us in Jesus name.

A great read. Definitely

GoodnessMILAYO:
A great read. Definitely

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