Jealousy: A Pursuit of Your Own Glory

 As I read through the Old Testament this year, I am consistently amazed with how God challenges my thinking.  This year my focal point has been the theme of God's glory and our dependence upon Him in the battles we face daily.  Of course it should not surprise us to know that the Bible is about God and that He is the primary character throughout the narrative.  He is the creator and our covenant making God who makes it abundantly clear that His glory will not be shared.  He even calls Himself a jealous God.  Those two words don't seem to fit in the same sentence.  As a matter of fact, many have leveraged those words to paint God to be some petty being who is threatened by others.  When, in fact, the narrative uses these words to communicate that God is the only God and to glorify any other "god" or person is to commit idolatry.  And since God is God alone, He is the one for whom all glory is due.  So God is not threatened but rather offended.  This would be like my wife being upset if another woman was flirting with me or if I gave attention to another woman that belongs to my wife.  No one I know would say that is an evil kind of jealousy... it is a righteous jealousy.  In fact, I would be kind of upset if she wasn't jealous, because it would communicate to me that she didn't care about our relationship.  Not all kinds of jealousy are equal.

There is a jealousy that is destructive.  For the most part, this is the jealousy that we experience in life.  It can be seen in those that get upset at others who have particular skills, wealth, or influence that they do not have.  You could be jealous because someone seems to have greater opportunities given to them in life.  You could be jealous because someone is better looking or seems to get more attention than you.  You could be jealous because of the frequent and elaborate vacations a family might take.  You could be jealous because some has more likes on their social media post than another person.  You could be jealous because a person that you are leading or managing is a perceived threat to your position of power.  This was the kind of jealousy that you see in King Saul.  His position of power was threatened by this rising young star.  Instead of celebrating the victories that would ultimately legitimize his leadership, he developed a jealous spirit that brought him to the point that he felt the need to kill David.  He made his thinking abundantly clear in 1 Sam. 20:30-31 in a response to his son, Jonathan, who was a close friend of David.

30 Saul’s anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you?  31 As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send someone to bring him to me, for he must die!”

Notice that Saul doesn't even say his name... he is the son of Jesse.  This jealousy started because people were praising the accomplishments of David more than that of the king, and it grew from there.  It occupied his mind and emotions causing him to become angry and impulsive.  Saul knew that his power and position were threatened by David, though he was not aware that God has already chosen David to be the next king.  Saul was not a godly king.  This was clear through the narrative, and the consequence of his failed spiritual leadership was that his kingdom was to be ripped from his family line (1 Sam. 15:26-28).  I am sure this prophetic word spoken to Saul by Samuel was going through his mind, yet he was desperate to hold on to power.  This not only shows that Saul was not a godly leader, but it shows that he was not a good leader either.  There is a real tendency to be jealous of those who threaten your current position of power or influence.  Perhaps one of the most significant reasons that leaders fail is because they become jealous of others who threaten their place of influence or power.  Ultimately they fail because they have made everything about themselves instead of the mission of their business or ministry.  

How do you guard yourself from jealousy?  Let me suggest a few practices that may help.

• Nip jealous thoughts in the bud.  Do not allow jealous thoughts any space in your life to grow because they will.  Before you  know it you will be comparing yourself to that person and beginning to resent them, though they have done nothing offensive.  Do not let your mind go there.  Repent of that thought and ask God to help you love that person.

• Remind yourself that you are loved by God in Christ.  Reminding yourself of your identity in Christ is a great way to help squash the temptation to compare yourself to others.  It leads you to  a place where you are comfortable and confident in who you are because of the person and work of Jesus. 

• Keep God's Glory as your central aim.  This will help curb the temptation to pursue your own glory as your central aim.  I find celebrating the accomplishments of others as a way to stay focused on God's glory.  In those times when I am tempted to make things about myself, I literally preach to myself, "Not to us! Not to us, but to Your Name be the glory."  It is just a simple verse that reminds me that God's glory is being proclaimed through the accomplishment of those that I could easily perceive as a threat.  Instead of being jealous and angry, I find myself rejoicing in the Lord.

I hope this helps as you deal with jealousy in your life.