The Jealous Type

You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.

– James 4:2

Millions of Americans invest in their health by working out at the gym, eating organic food and avoiding excess sugar and fat. Nevertheless, our nation still has a heart condition. According to current data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, now claiming almost 660,000 lives each year. That’s about one of every four fatalities.

Heart disease is more than a physical infirmity — it’s also a debilitating and deadly spiritual condition. One variety is jealousy, and there are several well-known cases of it recorded in the Bible. The first occurs within the opening chapters of Genesis between brothers Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve. Cain was jealous that God preferred Abel’s offering over his own. And unable to control his bitterness and envy, he killed Abel, and then tried to mislead God about his crime. When his Creator asked about Abel’s whereabouts, the murderer responded, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 

It’s later in Genesis that we find another instance of jealousy and deception. This time it involves Joseph, the son of Jacob — the patriarch of the nation of Israel. Jacob doted on Joseph, and the boy’s older brothers resented it. Joseph also didn’t win their affection by telling them about his symbolic dreams, which suggested that they would one day bow down to him. What’s more, Jacob had presented Joseph with a special coat of many colors, which signified the prominence of this handsome young son in his heart. One day, when Joseph ventured out in the fields to find his brothers, they spied him from afar and conspired to kill him. But they soon had a change of heart and instead decided to sell him into slavery.

Although the brothers’ horrendous deed led to years of heartbreak and struggle for both Joseph and Jacob, God used their jealousy as a vehicle for good. Joseph was both blessed and protected while in captivity. And he gained favor in the eyes of Egypt’s pharaoh — so much so that he eventually became the second-most powerful man in that nation. When a famine spread across the region, Joseph would even use his God-given wisdom to rescue millions of people from starvation — including his brothers and father. And yes, the brothers did bow down to Joseph, just as his dreams had predicted.

“You meant to do me harm, but God meant it for good,” Joseph explained, “so that it would come about as it is today, with many people’s lives being saved.”  

Are you the jealous type? Rather than envying each other’s accomplishments, possessions or good fortune, the cure for jealousy — the so-called Green-Eyed Monster — is to adopt an attitude of gratitude for our own many blessings. With this in mind, we’d be wise to take this passage from the Book of Jonah to heart:

“But as for me, I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation and deliverance belong to the Lord!”