Healing, Part IV

Warm winds were blowing in from the South this morning. With a blue sky and sunshine accompaniment, there's a strong sense that spring is indeed in the air.

Pastor Brad strapped on a guitar and greeted us, noting that Darlene was home sick today. He quoted a passage about worship, that it is something ongoing throughout the week but celebrated in a special way corporately on Sunday.

After a time of worship, an offering was taken. Brad shared that our capital campaign will finish up in June, but that the exciting work initiated with the building project is but a beginning. We then spent a time in prayer for the various needs of our church family and the community.

Healing IV: Envy

Envy is a much bigger deal than we're aware of. So we will first turn to James 3:14-16. Envy is not earthly and unspiritual, it is of the devil. Wherever you find envy and selfish ambition you find disorder and every evil practice.

Envy is, in essence, resenting God's goodness in other people's lives while ignoring His blessings for us.

We see it in the office when people go on vacation and we envy the amount of time they had off. Sometimes it might be envy when a friend gets a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Sometimes we envy stages in life, people who are older than us or younger us. We envy things we don't have. Sometimes it's talent or money or whatever it is.

In Genesis 4 Cain's envy led to murder. In Genesis 31 Rachel envied Leah because Rachel couldn't have a baby. Later Joseph's brothers envied Joseph for his dreams and visions, and father's favor.

David was envied by Saul. Many other passages show the destruction of envy. In the New Testament the chief priests handed Jesus over to be crucified because they envied Him.

Envy rots the bones. It's a sickness. Who or what do you envy? How do we beat this?

1. Don't compare yourself to other people. Galatians 6:4

2. Celebrate when good things happen to other people. Romans 12:15
Story of Jonathan and David had insights along this line. Jonathan rejoiced with his friend who would be king.

3. Instead of ignoring God's goodness in our lives, start to embrace it. Ecclesiastes 6:9
Better to appreciate what God has given you than looking over at someone's greener grass. Keep in mind that if you think someone else's grass is greener, there's a lot you don't see. No one has an easy life.

Always be thankful, for this is God's will for those of you who belong to Jesus Christ.

Brad closed with a story about his dad's battle with cancer the last six months of his life, and the gratitude he exemplified because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was in his heart.