Tonight I am going to show you a few of the evil works of Envy.
How does Envy work in our lives and what does it lead too?
Envy leads to desire, desire lead to lust, lust leads to lies, lies lead to hate, hate leads to murder and all are SIN.
Intro; Tonight’s message is entitled the Ugly Green Eyed Monster.
Envy, it is described in the dictionary as an “evil eye”
Envy is the type of deadly sin that starts out bad and stays bad.
Envy is a real monster; I can see it as one with green skin, a scowl on its face, and fangs to inject its poison into every person it encounters.
We speak of others as “green” with envy.
If you were to see green tint on a person’s skin you would think that they were sick, well, your not to far off though, in the case of envy they really are “sick at heart.”
Envy is not something that a person knows that they have, but others see it, and sometimes it is “obvious.” That is what makes envy so ugly.
It is a sin that belongs to the eye. Such as,
A partner closes a mega deal and receives a huge bonus and your eyes turn to Envy. A gorgeous woman walks into the room and your eyes turn to Envy.
Envy is summed up this way, “being sad about someone else’s success or blessing, and glad because of someone else’s failure or troubles.
Envy is a consuming desire to, “have every other person as unsuccessful as you feel.”
Envy seeks always to level the playing field, either to level “up” self, or to level “down” others.
Illus. Humor- A merchant was walking along the beach one day and found a bottle, as he opened the bottle out came a genie. The genie said, "your wish is my command," but wait, whatever you wish for will be given double to the one that you envy the most, he said o.k. "I wish to be blind in only one eye!"
I. “Who,” is it that you envy most?
In churches there are many young men and women that are go getters, seeking to do the very best at their ministries or jobs and Envy is the Deadly Sin feared the most because, we tend to be envious of other people in our same field or profession.
Think about it for a moment, Salesman are not envious of Engineers, Mothers don’t envy Computer Programmers.
Pastors are envious of other Pastors, Salesman are envious of other Salesman, etc.
We ridicule and reject successful people, we cast doubt about others accomplishments, we avoid parties and ceremonies that honor those that we envy, we engage in gossip and backbiting that tries to
de-throne those that have become “King of the Hill.”
In Families, envy set itself up with those who are most alike,
In churches, envy breeds itself among those that are teachers, and musicians, and ministers.
What is it that happens when Envy begins to rule in a person?
In the eyes of God the Father, Envy sets up a person to “Murder.” Envy is that bad Pastor? Just wait a minute.
Envy will set a person up to lie to get what he or she thinks that they deserve!
Let me tell you about a story in the Word of God about Envy that lead to desire, desire that lead to lust, lust which lead to lies, lies that lead to hate, hate which lead to murder.
It all started one afternoon, in the springtime, according to the Word of God.
2 Samuel 11:1-6,
It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
2 Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. 3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.”
David did not care about war, he had other things on his mind.
First of all, David was in a place he should have never been and alone.
But, He saw, looked upon a woman. He swelled up with Envy,
“I wish she were mine, I’ve got to have her.” It was not enough that he had taken her, no that was not enough sin yet he wanted more!
Now after their encounter, David looks to take care of the husband. You see envy, when it is done with you, leaves you holding the bag.
There were four things that happened to David because of Envy.
1. Envy damages self-esteem;
David was the King, He had everything you could want but that was not enough.
He had begun to compare himself with Uriah, he had lost sight of what he had and chose to take what Uriah had.
Listen, Envy makes you compare yourself with others. Boxers, Athletes; World-Class record holders will all lose their records to someone else. You were great! You still are, but envy makes you feel as if you are not, because you are not first or the winner.
David was a man green with envy, He had desires that were going to be filled no matter the cost involved. He was going to lie cheat and steal to get what he wanted.
You see Envy is a characteristic that must be dealt with and overcome or it will consume you.
2. Envy creates a lack of contentment;
Paul stated it like this, “I have learned to be content in whatever state I am in.”
Contentment is learned, it is being happy with what you have.
David was not content with what He had, and the ugly green eyed monster got a hold of him and David would not let him go.
The Envious person does not know contentment; enough is not enough I need more.
David had wives and he had power, fame, and fortune, but it was not enough he wanted more.
3. Envy keeps you from enjoying others success;
David had in his mind the Uriah must go. You see Uriah was a good man. He had a beautiful wife, a home and the love for his city and his King.
There was one thing for sure; David did not want anyone else to enjoy what he received from Bathsheba not even her husband.
Envy is a desire to possess things that are not rightfully ours. It wants what rightfully belongs to someone else or what has rightfully been earned by someone else.
4. Envy is a denial of the goodness of God;
What is your first response when you hear about one of your relatives receiving a large inheritance? “I should have received that money, because I know how to handle it better than they do!” Or "That co-worker of mine received the promotion, but I should have received it. I’m better qualified."
God had put Uriah and Bathsheba together and David denied that by separating them from each other for good. Envy that lead to Murder.
God is wonderful to all people, but we stand in the way and say that that is not God, He did not do that, I should have it, I deserve it not you.
David destroyed what God put together.
Conclusion: Believe me when I say that envy when it is finished with you will leave nothing but a stain on you!
Let Jesus deal with the problems in your life.
Before it is too late to repair STOP LETTING ENVY OVERTAKE YOU!!!!! God Bless
