The Ultimate VIP Card
Matthew 17:1 And six days after that, Jesus took Peter and James and his brother, John, and brought them up into a high mountain alone.
Quite the invitation. I can’t imagine a higher honor than being chosen by Jesus, hand-selected, to take a little private mountain getaway. Other than the fact that these three men would have above-average destinies for Christ’s ecclesial plans, I wonder what the other nine disciples thought about this exclusive small group in which they were not included. Maybe that was the turning point for Judas who decided, ‘What the heck, I’ll just look out for myself.” Perhaps. Jealousy and envy are known for causing havoc.
Jealousy, envy, and coveting – all very real and very damaging feelings – are no strangers to mankind or to the church… “How come someone else got something better than what I have?” That’s kind of what that boils down to. Aside from kids and grandkids, being happy for someone else’s good fortune isn’t always a natural or knee-jerk response. Did Philip say, “Wow, I’m so glad that Peter, James and John got to go with Jesus on their little outing to meet up with Moses and Elijah. Nothing I would want to do, but good for them!”
Unfortunately, much Scripture has been devoted to these ugly and fleshly, carnal sins. Yes, you read that right. ‘Do not covet’ is one of the ten commandments, and the other two spiritual violators, envy and jealousy, are listed in Paul’s Sins of Carnality, Galatians chapter five.
These fleshly responses to missed opportunities are not limited to the average life experience… “Why didn’t I get that award, promotion, raise, position, boyfriend, wife, vacation, house, car, beauty, etc.” These examples of jealousy, envy and coveting are endless.
Flip it to a church script, and the verbiage sounds similar… “How come I didn’t get that job on the church staff?” Why wasn’t I chosen for the Easter solo?” “I’m so jealous that she knows the Bible better than me.” “How come I wasn’t asked to teach that class or lead that group?” Jealousy, envy, and coveting are vile and sinful. Knowing what they are and what triggers them is step one, Awareness, to kicking them to the curb, and but good.
A little bit of jealousy can spice up a relationship. Even God is a jealous God and doesn’t want to share His people with other idols. I’m not going to share my husband with anyone else, either. Uneven relationships can take jealousy and turn it into a gunshot. Bad business. Coveting and envy are the less visible, snakes in the grass that bleed from a black heart.
Coveting what someone else has means that I don’t trust God. If I want something that I don’t have, I can work that out with God. Maybe He’ll give it to me, and maybe He won’t. But either way, I trust Him to know what’s best for me. Envy is the nastier of the two. Covet says, “I want what you have.” Envy says, “I don’t want what you have, I just don’t want you to have it.” Eww.
I admit, however embarrassing, that I didn’t have to make up these hypothetical questions, because they aren’t hypothetical. I have experienced them all first-hand. Thirty-some years ago, I invited my worldly friends – jealousy, coveting and envy – and took them with me to church. One of the most significant turning points along the way in my spiritual journey was learning the prayer of Jabez in 1 Chronicles: “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory.” That prayer kicked off a seven-year journal experience which culminated in seminary/graduate school at the age of forty-four where I had to learn the Greek New Testament -been translating it for fifteen years now, and a doctoral program at the age of fifty-seven that birthed Divine Discipleship.
I had no idea that asking God to enlarge my territory would not only give me my own purpose, His purpose for me felt like a VIP card to life, replacing all the previous feelings of jealous and envy I had toward everyone else. Now I’m too busy to see what it is that I don’t have.
Scripture doesn’t tell us if the other nine disciples were ever privileged to weekend getaways with Jesus the way Peter, James and John were. But they must have prayed their own prayer of Jabez, because church histories tell us that God enlarged their territories and then some!
Not happy with your current situation? Stop being envious or coveting someone else. Pray your own pray of Jabez, and watch God increase your territory!
