The Effects Of Jealousy - King Saul And David

The very next day a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave in his house like a madman. David was playing the harp, as he did each day. But Saul had a spear in his hand, and he suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David escaped him twice. Saul was then afraid of David, for the LORD was with David and had turned away from Saul.

1 Samuel 18:10-12

After performing with fellow Russian ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky one evening, Anna Matveyevna Pavlova was so overcome with jealousy and anger that she fainted behind the curtain. Pavlova’s problem? After their performance, she heard the audience shouting Nijinsky’s name louder than hers.

Jealousy—the emotion we feel toward someone who has something we believe should be ours—has the potential to wreck human and divine relationships and turn otherwise healthy people into emotional basket cases.

That, in a nutshell, was the story of King Saul and his jealousy toward David. The young man did nothing but serve the king faithfully, but Saul grew angry with him because of his growing popularity.

When Saul promoted David to the position of army commander, he served with distinction, defeating the dreaded Philistines and leading his victorious men home. Saul should have celebrated his army’s victory, but when he heard the people singing songs that celebrated David’s return, jealousy took over. Saul went insane and made it his life’s goal to kill David, the man God had already chosen to succeed him.

Saul’s story reminds us that jealousy doesn’t get us one step closer to enjoying God’s blessings. Instead, it will steal the joy and contentment the Lord wants us to experience.

Knowing that, we can come to no other conclusion but that jealousy is totally crazy!

Who is most likely to make you feel jealous? How can you turn that jealousy into gratitude for what God has done in the life of another and for what he wants to do in your life? Rest content in the knowledge that God has mapped out a life of blessing specifically for you.