Summer of Sin #2. ENVY
Num. 11:4-6
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Ryan Carlson, 16-year-old, was out with friends one night at 8 p.m. when suddenly he realized it was Father's Day and he had neglected to buy a card for dad.
2. Ryan found an open drug store, but was disappointed to find only two cards left him on a picked-over rack.
3. Selecting one, he brought it home and sheepishly presented it to his father. Dad read this message, "You've been like a father to me." He looked at Ryan, puzzled.
4. "Well, dad," Ryan tried to explain, "it was either that or the card that said, ‘Now that I'm a father too!’”
5. HAPPY FATHER’S DAY! Dads stand. Applause. In an age of many fatherless homes, thank you for being a faithful Dad!
B. SERIES & AIM
1. We’re on a series called “Summer of Sin.” Last week we defined ‘What Sin Is.’ Today we’re looking at one of the Seven Deadly Sins. We all have a sin nature; how can you recognize an illness if you don’t know what its symptoms are?
2. There’s a lot of cruelty & unhappiness in our culture. We’ve tried to blame it on our environment, but now we know that it’s internal – we’re sick. Shakespeare was right, “The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves.”
3. We have a poison coursing through our veins called sin; hopefully we’ll recognize the symptoms early enough to make corrective action.
4. This is a hopeful series! I hope you don’t walk away, saying, “Of no, it’s all about sin!” No, no, no – this is good. This is a diagnosis. Why? So we can be healed and find the antidote.
5. The first of the “7 Deadly Sins” is ENVY. I know it’s not nearly as juicy as lust, pride, or wrath. There’s even a train-wreck appeal to gluttony, when it’s presented by a fat Pastor. But envy? It doesn’t seem all that interesting – because we define envy as “Oh, I want his car;” or “I want other people’s stuff.” That’s only a small part of it.
6. The Bible tells us that envy is much more pervasive, more deadly, more destructive than that. The Apostle Paul puts envy on par with theft, murder, witchcraft, orgies, and hating God. Those are some bad things! Herman Melville called it, “The rabies of the heart!” Proverbs 14:30 says that “envy rots the bones.” Let’s look at our key text:
C. TEXT
4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” Num. 11:4-6. [KJV on vs. 6, “But now our soul is dried away.”]
I. DEFINITION OF ENVY
A. DISSATISFACTION
1. Moses brought Israel out of Egyptian slavery. God opened the Red Sea for them, and miraculously provided food for them 40 years in the desert – “manna,” which tasted like wafers made with honey. Psalm 78:25 says they “ate the bread of angels.” Only a few times in history has anyone been so privileged – to eat heavenly cuisine. But the Israelites began to despise what God provided. They longed for the food they’d eaten in Egypt. They said God’s food made their souls “dry up” (Num. 11:6; NKJV).
2. Envy was the cause. It’s a condition so poisonous that we’re not able to rejoice in the moment and enjoy what we have, but instead, find fault with it and say, “This isn’t good enough.”
B. HOW ENVY WORKS
1. I bring you a Fine Homebuilding Magazine, a Best Buy catalog, and a luxury car catalog. I promise that if you look at these, your bones will be rotting with envy. You’ve got a nice house – but not like these! Your cell phone is cool, but not like this one! Your car is nice, but nothing like these! SUDDENLY, WHAT YOU HAVE ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH!
2. Envy is a condition of the heart that says, “Over there I could be happy, but with what I’ve got right now, it’s not good enough!” If only things could be like I dream about. But now? No! THEY’RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH!”
3. It’s kind of funny to hear the Israelites remembering Egypt – free food; but what’s free food without freedom? Now they’re free, but don’t like the food. They aren’t happy whichever situation they’re in! So, is the problem really outside them or inside them?
C. ILLUSTRATIONS
1. GREENER PASTURES
a. There was a picture in a newspaper of a beautiful field of grass, with a fence running through the middle of it. The grass in both fields was lush and green.
b. In each field was a mule, and each mule had its head stuck through the fence and was eating grass from the other mule’s pasture. All around each mule was plenty of grass, yet the grass in the other field seemed greener and fresher.
c. Why is it we always are more attracted to what someone else has than what we ourselves have? [Tan, 7,700, #831]
2. CHILDREN ‘SAY’ WHAT WE ONLY THINK
a. At a birthday party, it came time to serve the cake. A little boy named Brian blurted out, “I want the biggest piece!”
b. His mother quickly scolded him; “Brian! It’s not polite to ask for the biggest piece!”
c. The little guy looked at her in confusion, and asked, “Well then, how DO you get it?” [1001 Quotes, Illus., etc.; Edward Rowell, p. 465]
II. PREVALENCE OF DISSATISFACTION
A. ‘PICKY, PICKY, PICKY’
1. In a N.Y. Times Magazine article called, “Picky, Picky, Picky” [3.29.07], Greg Turpan, said that many Americans have developed a “flaw-o-meter” that causes them to focus on what’s wrong with a product, an event, or a person. We use our “flaw-o-meters” on restaurants, movies, news stories and especially people.
2. Greg quotes this exchange from the dating game show, The Love Connection. It starts off great as the young man describes meeting the eligible potential date, “She opened the door, she looked fantastic. Beautiful face, great body, nice smile. Everything was going fine until she turned around and...” (he paused ominously and shook his head), “she had dirty elbows!”
3. Greg said, “Watching, I thought, ‘They can work it out – couple’s therapy or some soap and water.’” Then he realized it wouldn’t matter; the guy would just find something else. One lady talked about her date, “Sure, he’s a partner, but it’s not a very big firm. Besides he wears those black socks!”
4. Greg quips, “I don’t have those kind of requirements; all I want is a wife whose a physician/ astronaut with a minor in fashion modelling. It’s other people who need help!” Picky, picky, picky!
B. NOT HAPPY IN PARADISE
1. Now we laugh and that’s funny, but it’s more true than we want to admit. Adam & Eve lived in Paradise. No death, no sickness, all the services they wanted with no taxes to pay for them! Everything was perfect. And yet, through the serpent, the thought came to them, “Can you eat anything?” “Yes, except for THAT tree.” “I bet it’s the best tasting one.” And they became dissatisfied – with Paradise!
2. Do you see how deadly envy is? If YOU were put in the Garden of Eden, you wouldn’t be satisfied! You’d find something to complain about.
3. That’s why many people aren’t happy with who they’re married to; “I could’ve married someone better.” It’s why people are career-driven, because they hate the rung of the ladder they’re on now. It’s why we don’t look too closely in the mirror, it’s why we don’t stay too long at one church. Picky, picky, picky. That’s why some of you are having mid-life crises and you’re only in your mid-twenties!
4. “Back there, over there...it’s better.” You poison your life and can’t enjoy what’s right in front of you. Some of you are chronically unhappy and irritable, at everything and everybody. What’s the root? The real poison is that WE DON’T TRUST GOD! We don’t trust that He loves us and is doing what’s best for us.
5. The Israelites had their freedom, manna, quail, water from the rock, and God’s very presence with them – but were critical and unhappy, because they kept their focus on the flaws of what they had.
C. PSYCHO-SOMATIC FEELINGS
1. “Yeah, preacher, but I don’t FEEL good about the way things are.” Have you ever heard of psycho-somatic illness?
2. A couple of you could get together at work and say, “Let’s make so-n-so sick.” You start going up to her and saying, “Do you feel alright? You don’t look so good.” The next person, “Are you feeling ok? Your eyes kind of look yellowish.”
3. By the end of the day, she’s going to go home sick, a victim of suggestion. A funny prank, but this is exactly what we do with envy. The Israelites decided the manna wasn’t enough, so they ‘felt’ sick; “My life is drying up!”
4. What they meant by “drying up” is that the manna was unhealthy. This is false; the manna had all the nutrients they needed. Ps. 105:37 says, “...and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.”
5. That’s what we do: we look at our life and decide, ‘There’s not enough meaning here.’ ‘Not enough success here.’ ‘Not enough love here.’ If you tell yourself this long enough, eventually you’ll begin to feel sick.
6. I see it in marriages all the time. “He’s not good enough;” “She’s not good enough.” And before long, you don’t feel love anymore, and say, “God knows what’s right most of the time, but here, He missed it. My life is drying up!”
7. “God says we’re supposed to tithe, but if I do that I’ll dry up!” “God says sexuality must be in marriage, but if I don’t give in, he’ll leave me.” We’re saying, “God – what You give me isn’t good enough. I’ve got to supplement with something extra.”
III. INSTEAD OF BEING CRITICAL, BE THANKFUL
A. FOCUS ON THE GOOD
1. The Antidote? Trust that God knows best. Count your blessings! Recognize God’s provision – “Food falling from the sky every day! Wow!”
2. Instead of saying, “He spends so much time at the office,” say, “I’m so blessed to have a husband who’s such a hard worker!” Instead of saying, “She’s always nagging me about not being home on time,” say, “I’ve got a wonderful wife who loves and cares about me and wants to spend time with me!”
3. Focus on mercy; focus on the miracles. Appreciate what you DO have, not what you DON’T have. So what’s the lesson? If you’re finding fault with your surroundings, the Bible says it’s probably because you’ve lost sight of the True Manna from Heaven. You’ve looked wrong. “Envy” comes from the Latin word “Invidia” which means “to look maliciously” – the “evil eye.” They were looking maliciously at the manna.
B. JESUS IS THE TRUE MANNA
1. In John 6, people came up to Jesus and asked, “How do we know you’re from God? What sign will you give?” Jesus said, “The manna Moses gave you was only a symbol of the True Manna, which I am giving you.” Vss. 30,32-33. “Evermore give us this Bread!” they said. Jesus said, “I AM the Bread of Life – Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” John 6:35.
2. The Jews began to grumble. “Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? You’re not good enough!” Go up to the typical U.S. person and say, “The answer to your problems is Jesus Christ.” “Jesus?” Isa. 53:5, “He was despised and rejected of men.”
3. Jesus did the opposite of the flaw-o-meter. He believed good about us, when there was no good to see. Loved us and died for us when we were yet sinners. We look through the good to find stuff to complain about. He looked through the bad to find a reason to love us! He knows you and He loves you!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. One day a rich, old, miserly man visited a Rabbi. After expressing discontent, the Rabbi led him to a window overlooking the street and said, “What do you see?” The rich man answered, “I see men and women and little children.”
2. Then the Rabbi led him over to a large mirror and asked, “What do you see now?” “Now I see myself,” he replied.
3. The Rabbi observed, “The window and the mirror are both similar; they both are a sheet of glass. But the glass of the mirror is covered on the back with silver (like wealth); and no sooner is the silver added, than you fail to see others, but only see yourself!” [Knight’s Master Book of New Illus., p. 134]
4. That’s what discontent or envy do; it makes us only focus on ourselves!
B. THE CALL
1. If we would make Heaven, the root of envy must be pulled up! We must let God give us a new inner nature. How? We must die with Jesus on His Cross & rise with Him in newness of life!
2. Paul said, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new’ 2 Cor. 5:17. We’ve been born physically, but God says we still lack spiritual birth. Would you like that?
3. Some of you Christians have your flaw-o-meter stuck on high; You’re focused on the wrong thing. Here’s a nickel. It’s a small thing, but if I hold it up to my eye it can blot out the sun. Why? Focus. We need to stop focusing on people’s flaws!
4. Christians ought to be the easiest people to fail in front of. Woman caught in adultery. Do we say like Jesus, “Woman, neither do I condemn you; leave your life of sin.” Or do we say, “Ah Hah! I knew it!”
5. If you can’t enjoy your current life with gratitude, you’ve lost sight of your salvation. Is your focus on Jesus? Can you look past your problems and be happy with the life God has given you? All who need prayer, please stand up. PRAYER.
[This is a rewrite of Anthony Scoma’s message of the same title]
