Alba 11-16-2025
LOVE DOES NOT ENVY
I Corinthians 13:4
Dwight L. Moody once told the fable of an eagle who was envious of another that could fly better than he could. One day the bird saw a sportsman with a bow and arrow and said to him, “I wish you would bring down that eagle up there.” The man said he would if he had some feathers for his arrow.
So the jealous eagle pulled one out of his wing. The arrow was shot, but it didn’t quite reach the rival bird because he was flying too high. The first eagle pulled out another feather, then another—until he had lost so many that he himself couldn’t fly. The archer took advantage of the situation, turned around, and killed the helpless bird. Moody made this application: if you are envious of others, the one you will hurt the most by your actions will be yourself.
I Corinthians 13:4 tells us that love does not envy. Again, the Greek word for love used in the original text is a word which describes a sacrificial, giving kind of love that looks for the best for others. That kind of love has no place for envy. Envy is described as both wanting what someone else has, and also not wanting them to have it. That's not very loving.
So is envy a problem for people today? Most assuredly, envy is currently very evident in our culture. If you don't think so, just look at what some politicians promise to do if elected: “Tax the rich!” And many people say, “Right on!” The very idea that the rich have too much money and don't deserve what they have worked for is built on envy. The feeling is, “I want what they have. I deserve it. They don't need that much. They should give it to me.” Envy. That is all that is. The trouble with taxing the rich to pay for programs through the government is that you soon run out of other people's money. The end result is that everyone has less, not more. Envy has no positive end. Just ask a featherless eagle.
The Lord knows that envy works against everything that is good. That is why I Corinthians 13:4 tells us that love does not envy. This section of this chapter on love begins to describe love, not by what it is, but by what it is not.
Sometimes the best way to say what something is, is to say what it isn't. If a child asks you what a smooth surface is, you would probably say it is a surface with no bumps and no rough spots. Bumps and rough spots are not what smooth is, but what smooth isn't. It would be hard to describe what smooth is without reference to its opposite, what it isn't.
If a daughter asks a mother what she means by perfectly clean sheets, the mother will say, “I mean that there is no dirt or stains on them.” The easiest way to describe a vacuum is to say it is the absence of air. The easiest way to describe total darkness is to say there is no light, and the easiest way to describe pure light is to say, as John does of God, He is light and in Him is no darkness at all. When the Book of Revelation tells us about what heaven is like, it focuses on what heaven is not. It is the absence of night, pain, tears, sin, and death. The point is, a quality or value can only be fully grasped by seeing its opposite, and by knowing what it isn't.
That is why Paul, after telling us two positive things about love, that it is patient and kind, he follows up with a list of eight things which love is not. The first thing Paul says that love is not is envious. Love does not envy. One of the reasons why God warns us against envy is that...
ENVY IS SIN
The Ten Commandments teach us that. Exodus 20:17 says, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” You see, to covet carries the idea that you really want what someone else has. And you want it so much that you would be willing to take it from the other person.
And if that is not enough to see that envy is a sin, check out some New Testament verses and look at what category envy fits into. Romans chapter one describes the state of the world that tries to live without God. Sadly it describes much of what is going on in our own county today. Verse 28 says, And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.”
And verse 29 begins telling us what those things are. It says, “being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness.” There is envy, right in the middle of a list of things that are unquestionably sins.
And I Peter 2:1-3 commands Christians, “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” Christians are told to lay envy aside. To put it down. To leave it behind. Don't allow an envious spirit to take hold of you. Don't let it influence your life, or the way you deal with other people or even your politics.
Envy is a sin. But not only is envy sin...
ENVY LEADS TO OTHER SINS
James 3:16 says, “For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.” Look at all the examples of this in scripture. Cain killed Abel and became the first criminal in history because he envied his brother. Cain brought a sacrifice that was unacceptable, while Abel's sacrifice was acceptable. But God told Cain he could be blessed also if he did what was right. Instead, envy led him to commit the first murder.
Joseph brothers envied him because of his relationship to his father, and they sold him into slavery. Sibling rivalry is common in families, but envy drove those brothers to want to kill Joseph. Finally they were convinced to rid themselves of him by selling him to traveling merchants. They even lied to their father, telling him that Joseph was killed by a wild animal and brought Joseph's coat of many colors soaked in blood to try to prove it. Yes, envy leads to other sins.
King Saul tried his best to kill David because of his envy of David's popularity. In battle, David proved himself a worthy warrior. And people praised him in a way that slighted King Saul saying that Saul had killed his thousands, but David his ten thousands (I Samuel 18:7). Envy was driving Saul mad in more ways than one, and David had to run for his life. But in spite of all Saul tried to do, David still became king after Saul died.
But the worst example of how envy leads to other sins is when the leaders of Israel sought to kill Jesus because they envied His popularity. Matthew 27:17-18 tells of the trial of Jesus before Pilate, the Roman governor. It says, “Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, 'Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?' For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.” And Mark 15:11 adds, “But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.”
We know that it was our sins, yours and mine, that led Jesus to the cross. But the sin of envy was one of the motivating factors that led religious leaders, people who knew scripture, people who were respected in the community, people who should have known better than to want someone killed. And it was not just someone. It was the One, that for centuries, they had hoped would come. The very Messiah promised by God. But because of envy, they wanted Him killed.
That envious attitude did not end there. Envy continues to work in people's lives and lead to other sins even today, so beware. Tim Smith, who served on staff at a church in New Orleans, told of a young man named Arthur who began attending their church. He said Arthur was a nice guy but was different, both in appearance and in personality. Arthur got involved in the young adult ministry Tim had started at the church and was accepted for who he was. It wasn’t long before Arthur became fixated on another guy in the group Tim called Carl.
Carl was a successful young man working in corporate America who was from a well to do family. He was amiable, friendly with everyone, had a heart of gold, was active in the ministry and often hosted events at his apartment in the Garden District. He was a member of a Mardi Gras Krewe, played golf at a local country club, was a member of the Young Republicans, the Young Leadership Council and another society club. Carl also drove a BMW. Arthur wanted to be like Carl. He asked to join the clubs that Carl was a part of and wanted to be Carl’s best friend. While Carl was gracious to Arthur, they were never going to be best friends. Arthur’s envy turned and one night, Arthur went over to Carl’s apartment, poured gasoline on Carl’s BMW and lit it on fire. He was arrested and served time in jail. Tim Smith said, “This is the power and damage envy can have in our lives.” Envy leads to other sins.
So what do you do with envy before it creates more trouble, leads to more sins and causes damage to one's self and others?
ENVY NEEDS TO BE PUT UNDER THE BLOOD OF JESUS.
Forgiveness only can be given by the very Son of God who was willing to lay down His life so that the penalty for our sins would be paid. Yet, to receive the forgiveness that comes through Jesus, we must be willing to turn from our sins and leave them behind. That includes envy.
Our problem is that we tend to make comparisons. It doesn't take long to find someone who has what we wish we could have. Whether that is something they possess, or something that they are. They have more money. They are better looking. Everything goes their way. I get nothing. That is the attitude of envy. And it is sin.
When Jesus shed His blood on that cross on Calvary, His suffering was done in our place. It is what we deserve for our sins. And make no mistake, it was not easy for Him to do it.
But His blood can wash away our sins. If envy is a problem for you (or even if it is some other sin that is difficult for you to fight), it belongs under the blood of Jesus.
Commit yourself to Jesus in a new way, and surrender yourself and any wrong attitudes you may have, to the One who loves you so much that He died for you.
CLOSE:
Bob Russell used to say that our country was founded on Give me liberty or give me death. Then it became, Give me liberty. Now its just, Give me, give me. But even if you are able to achieve some great thing or amass great wealth, none of it will last.
George Foreman could be remembered as boxing his way to a gold medal in Mexico City Olympics and waving the American flag. But George laments today kids don’t know him that way. He said, “The grills took my identity away. When I’m with of group of kids now, they just yell out. That’s the cooking man.” Our influence fades fast.
The truth is, life and the things we have, and even who we become on this earth are all temporary. Why envy others for what we don't have. We may see the things we want, we may want what others have and wish they didn't have it, but there is no joy in that. If you want joy, the most important thing is the answer to this question, Are you ready for eternity? There is salvation in Jesus.
