girltalk Blog
Steph writes to say that this series on envy, “has awakened me to the way in which envy manifests itself in my life and the poor attitude I have toward others. My trouble now is that I am finding it very difficult to deal with these emotions and to know how to overcome them.”
The Bible tells us very simply to: “Put away all…envy” (1 Pet. 2:1). How do we do this?
1. Confess our envy to God and ask for his power and grace for change.
2. Stop comparing ourselves with others. Jesus’ question to Peter (“What is that to you?”) was intended to jolt him (and us) out of a preoccupation with others. It’s none of our business, so we must stop thinking about it! We must refuse to entertain thoughts that lead to envy.
3. Meditate on a verse that convicts you of envy and redirects your gaze to Christ. Connect one bit of Scripture to one bit of life.
4. Pray for God to bless the person you are tempted to envy. This strikes a blow against the envious desire to see blessing withheld from another.
5. Remember all the ways that God has blessed you. Start a list if you need to and refer to it when you are tempted to envy. You can’t give thanks to God and envy at the same time.
These are but a few ways to put away envy, but what if it won’t stay put?
More on that tomorrow…
4:15 p.m.
52home
We began our series with the story of Peter’s conversation with our Savior, after hearing that he was to be martyred:
“Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved [John] following them…When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21:20-22)
Jesus’ rebuke, while it seems harsh, was really the most loving answer he could give to Peter, for sinful comparison is a destructive practice. The Bible calls it envy.
So far we’ve considered three questions:
WHO do we envy? (We envy those close to us.)
WHY do we envy? (We don’t want others to have what we can’t have. We want to be the best. We doubt God’s goodness.)
WHAT are the consequences of envy? (It robs us of peace, fruitfulness, and relationships.)
Envy is serious. “Out of envy” Jesus was delivered up to die. But “out of mercy” he confronts our sinful comparison because he wants to help us overcome it.
We’ll address this final question: “HOW do we overcome envy?” in the following posts.
5:51 p.m. Sick
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2010 at 5:55 pm | by Kristin Chesemore
Filed under
Motherhood
Every Spring, ants invade our home and make tracks for the kitchen. I’m not particularly fond of these little guys, and I do all I can to eliminate them as quickly as possible.
But this year, we also have ants as pets.
For Christmas, Liam and Owen received ant farms and a voucher for free ants. They waited several months for the ants to arrive (checking the mailbox anxiously each day!). And just the other day, they finally came—Christmas in April!
The boys filled their little ant farms with sand and used tubes to connect one ant farm to the other. Then they dumped the little guys inside and watched them get to work.
Yes, I’m killing ants in one part of the house and feeding them in another. Does that make sense? Only in the life of a mom!
Not only can my boys enjoy watching and feeding the pet ants, but I can use them as an object lesson.
Like most kids (and grown-ups) my little guys often battle lazy desires. They can be tempted to complain and grumble about their school and chores. But ants, as you know, are super hard workers. They scurry around, carrying sand and building tunnels.
For my boys, this is a wonderful picture of what the Lord has called them to do. He has called them to work hard—to be busy and diligent. That’s why Scripture tells them: “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise”(Prov. 6:6).
Only, in our case we don’t need to “go” to the ants, they come to us—via a crack in the wall or the US Mail.
3:26 p.m.
52home
Melody—who is doing a wonderful job teaching her children to trust God in the midst of suffering—sent us this funny story about one conversation that didn’t go quite as expected:
I was talking to my kids (age 8, 5 and 3) about how God is good even when things don’t go our way. (we’ve had a lot of health problems in our family)
I said, “Is God good even when Grandma is sick for a long time?”
“Yes!” was the resounding reply.
“Is God good even when Daddy had to have brain surgery?” Again I heard a chorus of “Yes!”
“Is God good even if you don’t get any more Build a Bears?”
This question was met with silence and surprise . . and finally a round of hesitant agreement.
Nothing like bringing it down to what’s important!
See you all Monday,
Nicole for the girltalkers
3:58 p.m.
52home
One humble woman told us how envy affected her relationships:
I have really been struggling with envying the pregnant women in my life. My husband & I are not trying to get pregnant right now, but I still struggle very much with wanting a child and not wanting others to have children. (That Cornelius quote was very convicting and true). I found myself mistreating many pregnant friends of mine at my church by not smiling in the hallway or engaging in usual conversations. I was so ugly in my actions but more ugly in my thoughts. I realized I was really wronging them by being so closed off. My jealously and envy not only hurt my relationship with God, my husband, my friends but with the whole church body. I realized my sin really affects all others around me- in my case my church family. Praise be to God that where my sin was abounding, His grace abounded even stronger. He showed me my sin through other saints and I was able to repent and receive forgiveness from women I was intentionally ignoring.
Because God gives grace to the humble, I’m sure this woman has much grace coming her way! May we all be encouraged to follow her example and identify and repent from envy. Envy can hinder friendship, but humility—by the grace of God—can restore and strengthen relationships in the body of Christ.
3:59 p.m.
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