There is a fable of an eagle which could out fly another, and the other did not like it. The latter saw a sportsman one day, and said to him:
“I wish you would bring down that eagle.” The sportsman replied that he would if he only had some feathers to put into the arrow. So the eagle pulled one out of his wing.
The arrow was shot, but did not quite reach the rival eagle; (soaring hands over head) it was flying too high. The envious eagle pulled out more feathers, and kept pulling them out until he lost so many that he could not fly, and then the sportsman turned around and killed him. My friend, if you are jealous, the only man you can hurt is yourself.
Genesis 37:4, 11 NIV: “When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. . . . His brothers were jealous of him.”
Psstt . . . Parents, please do not play favourites at home.
When one is jealous they feel “threatened or fearful of losing one’s position or situation to someone else.”
Jealousy is a most terrible evil and is an attribute of Satan. The Bible tells us of how Lucifer (Satan) became envious of the relation between Jesus, the Son and God, the Father. Here is where rebellion began—with envy.
Jealousy had breed among the Jacob’s wives; and the results manifested right through the sons—Joseph’s brothers. And what an ugly harvest it reaped? Discord, insecurity, resentment, suspicion and hatred. So much so that Joseph paid a painful price—sold as a slave by his own flesh and blood!
Jealousy not only affects human relations, it also affects our physical and mental health. Proverbs 14:30 NLT says “jealousy is like cancer in the bones.” Believe it or not, it causes rottenness to the bones. And I believe science can prove it.
So what do you do with this terrible evil?
The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:1-2 NLT/TLB “So get rid of all evil behaviour. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like new-born babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry for this as a baby cries for his milk.”
