How can jealousy affect my life? What can jealousy lead to? - Jealousy - TouchPoints

How can jealousy affect my life? What can jealousy lead to?

Proverbs 12:12Thieves are jealous of each other’s loot, but the godly are well rooted and bear their own fruit.

When you are jealous over other people’s things, you begin to justify to yourself why you can take them away. This is the opposite of generosity, where you love to give away what you have.

Genesis 4:4-5The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry.

Acts 17:5-6But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob. . . . They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas. . . . Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason.

Jealousy for attention or affection can drive a person to extreme action, even seeking to harm or kill others.

1 Samuel 18:7-12This was their song: “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands!” This made Saul very angry. . . . So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David. . . . A tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul. . . . But Saul had a spear in his hand, and he suddenly hurled it at David. . . . Saul was then afraid of David.

Jealousy can make enemies of friends. Notice the progression of Saul’s jealousy. Saul first became afraid David might replace him. Then he became tormented by a jealous spirit. This led him to uncontrolled rage, causing him to try to harm David. The selfish pursuit of harming David became Saul’s lifelong passion.

Galatians 5:22But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives . . .

When we seek the character traits that come from the Holy Spirit, we are spared from petty human jealousy and the hard feelings that come from the competition for honor and popularity.