What causes feelings of resentment?

2 Samuel 6:16As the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him.

When we question the nature or motives of someone else’s behavior, we can begin to feel resentment toward that person.

Genesis 27:36Esau exclaimed, “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice. First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?”

When we are directly deceived by someone, we tend to resent the person who deceived us.

Genesis 4:3-5, 8When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected. . . . One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him.

Jealousy or envy toward another person can cause us to resent him or her for having what we do not.

Luke 15:27-30“‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’ The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’”

Feeling left out or overlooked can cause us to resent the person who overlooks us or who rewards someone else whom we know doesn’t deserve it.

Genesis 37:2-4When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. . . . Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.

Real or perceived favoritism can cause resentment in those who feel less-favored.