July - 22
A DEADLY SIN: ENVY
A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30
In spite of everything I know and have learned and even preached, envy is never far away. Oh, I’m smart enough not to be obvious about it. People don’t respect someone who is openly envious.
But what makes envy a battle is what lies at its heart: the tendency to compare. And that tendency is always directed toward others who outshine us. They have more money. They live more successfully.
That’s what was going on for Saul in our Bible reading for today. Saul was king of Israel. People wrote songs about him, and many were thankful he was king. But then along came David, who did things a little better. Verse 9 gives the picture of envy: “From that time on, Saul kept a jealous eye on David.” This “jealous eye” is what causes the bone rot mentioned in our Scripture verse from Proverbs.
When I constantly look at what others are doing and how I measure up, two things happen. First, I won’t be at peace because my restless eyes will always find someone who does something better than I can. Second, if my eyes are preoccupied with looking at others, there won’t be much opportunity to “look up” to Jesus.
Hebrews 3:1 says, “Fix your thoughts on Jesus.” Focusing on Jesus helps me to avoid the sin of envy. It also makes real connecting with Jesus easier.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, at times my eyes tell me I don’t mea¬sure up in ways that I would like. Help me to see who I am through your eyes. Help me to strive for your grace and peace. Amen.
我虽然知道、学过、甚至传讲各种道理，然而，嫉妒总是如影随形。当然，我会技巧地做得不动声色，毕竟没有人会尊重那些公然嫉妒的人。
嫉妒之所以成为我们的战场，乃因为它的核心是：我们好与人比较，而我们总爱与那些比我们优越的人比较。他们比较我富有，他们过得更成功。
在今天的经文中，扫罗的光景就是这样。扫罗是以色列的君王，民众谱写关于他的诗歌，他们也庆幸他是君王。然后，大卫出现了，这大卫事事都比扫罗略胜一筹。第9节是一幅嫉妒的图画：「从这日起，扫罗就怒视大卫。」箴言这节经文提到朽烂的骨，就是这种「怒视」引起的。
当我不断留意别人在作甚么、和我如何与他们相比时，有两件事会发生；第一，我心中不得安宁，因为我不肯休止的眼目，必定会看到有人做得比我更好；第二，我的眼睛若忙于看别人，它们便很少机会「仰望」耶稣了。
希伯来书3:1说：「你们应当思想…耶稣。」专心仰望耶稣能帮助我们避开嫉妒的罪，我们亦因此能更容易真的与耶稣交往了。
祷告
主耶稣，有时我的眼睛告诉我，我的成就不及别人；求祢帮助我以祢的眼光来看我是谁，又帮助我竭力追求祢的恩典和平安。阿们。