Do you envy or get jealous of someone (e.g. family member, friends, co-workers, etc...)? I do! I (Sal) get jealous of people close to me because they have something that I don't have!! Well, get over it Sal! I have to know that God blesses individuals in different ways, which I have to constantly remember what "I'm thankful" for daily or I'll start dwelling "selfishly" what I don't have. The problem with this is that it can kick start various of "negative" emotions (e.g. anger, envy, etc..) with sinful actions that "Heavenly" Father won't like.
For example, when I was a "little kid", I love collecting baseball cards. My brother and I would collect it together as a hobby. Due to our sinful nature, we tend to naturally get jealous or envious of each other. I remember my brother and I would always look forward in going to Shinders (downtown St. Paul) with our mom and sister. We always look forward to buying packets of baseball cards! Then we would anticipate in opening our packets of baseball cards to see what "good" baseball players we would get. I admit that I did get "childishly" jealous if my "younger" brother would get a better pack of individual baseball players. then I remember one time that my mom offered a deal with my younger brother. She told him that she will buy a whole box set the of "Topps 87'" Baseball Cards if he would get good grades in school. I said to myself, "How come mom never offered this bargain with me?". I started to grow more jealous and envious towards my younger brother. This led to anger and several "fights" years later until he grew taller (God's judgment or wrath against me-lol!) than me. Yeah, I can laugh about this now, but I wasn't as a kid. As I grew in my Christian walk, I've grown less jealous and envious, but it's still there in my "human" flesh. So how about you? My challenge to you reading this is, we need to "refocus" off ourselves or others and "focus" on Heavenly "Father". He blesses all of us in different ways and we just have to acknowledge that and just be thankful of what you are already blessed with, right? Here is a verse that came up to me during service after today's (Sunday, November 15th of 2009) theme at church (Morris Community Church-both from pre-service Bible study-Deepening the Well & Service Message by Jim Mc. on Peacemaking Church) today..
*Note: I would later get a box of FREE baseball cards from a high school buddy of mine during my years in college, which I now see was a "late" (God' timing) blessing (right after I gave my life to Christ and gave my friend a Bible too)
"The key to biblically overcoming jealousy is to discern the roots of your jealousy and then battle them with the truth of God's Word."- What Does The Bible Say About Overcoming Jealousy? (allaboutlifechallenges.org)
"Some people may wonder: 'What does the Bible say about overcoming jealousy?' Let us explore the answer to this pressing question. In order to battle jealousy, the root causes must be discerned. Jealousy typically grows out of insecurity, fear, deception, or covetousness. The Bible addresses these roots of jealousy several times.
Personal insecurity can breed a host of jealous strife. Often times, we base our security on the opinion, affirmation, and acceptance of other people. When we feel rejected or unloved we become dangerously insecure leading us to perceive the strengths of other people as threats to our own well being.
To biblically battle the impediment of insecurity we must turn to God through His Word to tell us once again of His unfailing love and acceptance. Completing this task will take active engagement in the battle through research, reflection, and prayer. Start by looking up all the verses in the Bible related to God's love and acceptance. Here are some passages to get you started:
Other Bible Related sites on this topic:
Genesis
Genesis 27 Jacob Gets Isaac's Blessing
"9 Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing."
20 Isaac asked his son, "How did you find it so quickly, my son?"
"The LORD your God gave me success," he replied.
21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not."
22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau." 23 He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. 24 "Are you really my son Esau?" he asked.
"I am," he replied.
25 Then he said, "My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing." Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come here, my son, and kiss me."
27 So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, "Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed.
28 May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness— an abundance of grain and new wine.
29 May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed."
30 After Isaac finished blessing him and Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. 31 He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, "My father, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing."
32 His father Isaac asked him, "Who are you?"
"I am your son," he answered, "your firstborn, Esau."
33 Isaac trembled violently and said, "Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!"
34 When Esau heard his father's words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me—me too, my father!"
35 But he said, "Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing."
36 Esau said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacob [a] ? He has deceived me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he's taken my blessing!" Then he asked, "Haven't you reserved any blessing for me?"
37 Isaac answered Esau, "I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?"
38 Esau said to his father, "Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!" Then Esau wept aloud.
39 His father Isaac answered him, "Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness, away from the dew of heaven above.
40 You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.""
" 6 Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, "Do not marry a Canaanite woman," 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8 Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; 9 so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had."-Genesis 28
-Joseph's Coat Of Jealousy
by Wayne Blank keyway.ca
"Joseph's "coat of many colours" became a highly visible manifestation of the jealousy that Joseph's brothers already had for him because of the blatant favoritism that Jacob / Israel had for Joseph.
The Favorite
"37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children ... and he made him a coat of many colours".. 37:4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him." (Genesis 37:3-4 KJV)
"9 "The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him, 10 and rescued him from all his afflictions, and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and all his household."-Acts 7:9
Exodus
"..2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. other gods before [1] me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself an IDOL in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments....17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."-Exodus 20
"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones."-Proverbs 14
Gospels
" 20He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' 21For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' ""-Mark 7
"1Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
13"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.[b]'
22"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
25"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
28"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
31" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' ""-Luke 15
Other
"For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder."-2 Corinthians 12:20
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John Lennon - Jealous Guy
*see GoodnewsEverybody.com Singlehood, Dating, etc... & GoodnewsEverybody.com Life-Marriage, Weddings, Covenant with God, etc... Outreach
"
I was dreaming of the past.
And my heart was beating fast,
I began to lose control,
I began to lose control,
I didn't mean to hurt you,
I'm sorry that I mad you cry,
I didn't want to hurt you,
I'm just a jealous guy,
I was feeling insecure,
You night not love me any more,
I was shivering inside,
I was shivering inside,
I was trying to catch your eyes,
Thought that you were trying to hide,
I was swallowing my pain,
I was swallowing my pain. "
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John Lennon - Jealous Guy Lyrics from lyrics007.com