JEALOUSY
the
Greatest Sin
JEALOUSY
O
ne day I was talking with a Muslim man. During the course of our conversation he said, "Jealousy is one of the worst sins. One hundred good deeds could not atone for the sin of jealousy." When I asked him why this was so, he mentioned that it causes a lot of trouble in the world. It causes people to divorce their wives and run off with other women, it causes people to steal the possessions of others. It causes anger, harsh words and hurt feeling. We agreed that the list could go on.The proverbs of the prophet Solomon says, "Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?" (Anbia, Proverbs 27:4). The Apostle Paul writes, "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry, and witchcraft, hatred, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like." (Injil, Galatians 5:19-21a) A list of sins from the proverbs of the prophet Solomon contains things that go hand in hand with jealousy. It says, "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stir up dissension among brothers." (Anbia, Proverbs 6:16-19)
TWO REASONS
Better Than The Next Person?
But why is jealousy such a great sin? There are two main reasons. One is that when we are jealous, we believe we deserve more than the person of whom we are jealous. Why would we think that we deserve more than another person? Is it not God who gives us everything we have? If we work for our acceptance by God, and prove to be sinless, then we would have the right to be jealous, but the Holy Scriptures tell us that our acceptance by God is a gift of God's mercy. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not of works, so that no one can boast." (Injil, Ephesians 2:8-9)
If I am jealous of another man's property or talents, then I am actually believing that I am better than him. This goes against God's Word, because it says, "There is no one righteous, not even one;" (Injil, Romans 3:10) It also says, "whoever keeps that whole law and yet fails in one point is guilty of breaking all of it." (Injil, James 2:10) That is why we cannot receive salvation on our own merit, but only on the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal man who gave his life and blood to atone for your sin and mine. When we are jealous, whether we realize it or not, we are denying this greatest of all facts. The sad thing is that most religions today believe that it is through performing certain religious acts that we are made acceptable before God. This not only promotes jealousy, but also denies the truth of God.
Better than God?
Secondly, when we are jealous, we believe that we know better than God. This is a great sin, the sin of Satan and those who follow him. The Bible describes one who said this. Listen to what it says, "You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit." (Anbia, Isaiah 14:13-15) The sin of jealousy is the sin that urges us to exalt ourselves above God.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NIV®
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THE CURE
So what is the cure for jealousy? We have seen that it is not in following a religion that keeps count of good deeds. It is not in following a religion that finds acceptance with God by simply doing good works. The cure for jealousy is to trust in the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven. He has made us acceptable before God. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us." (Injil, Romans 5:8) The Injil states: "If anyone says, 'I love God' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, who he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen." (Injil, 1 John 4:18) "We know and rely on the love God has for us. We love because he first loved us." (Injil, 1 John 4:16, 19) "Yet to all who received him to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--" (Injil, John 1:12)
When we trust in Christ with humble thanks, we receive the gift of God's forgiveness and mercy. This not only puts us into a close relationship with the God who cares for us, but this attitude of thanksgiving helps us put events in our lives into proper perspective and gives us strength please God and to face each situation in every day. Therefore there is no desire or need to be jealous because God gives us a new life power.
YOUR RESPONSE
Do you find yourself being jealous? It is one of the symptoms of a serious sin problem that all humans have. The answer to this problem is to simply come to God and thankfully receive his gift of mercy and forgiveness. Jesus Christ has already offered the perfect sacrifice to God and proven his victory over sin and death and acceptance before God. Trust in what he has done and continue to thank him.