Covetous and Envy

Covetousness and envy challenge our relationships with others and our daily walk of faith, but the scripture has given us guidance so that we may overcome these things. One of the Ten Commandments given to Israel when the Law was established was, “Thou shalt not covet”. This applies to coveting our neighbors possessions, status, and spouse. When Jesus was asked to define the greatest commandment, He explained that loving God and loving our neighbor are the two great commandments and on these two commands hang all the law and commandments[1]. The Ten Commandments are specific instructions given to man to illustrate how to keep these two primary commands. The first of the Ten Commandments relate directly to loving God and the last of the commandments relate to loving our neighbor. Romans 13:9 explains:

For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

If there is any other command given to us as relating to each other, it is summed up in the command to love your neighbor as yourself. This challenge goes beyond human ability for no man can truly love others as God commands without the love of God having already been established in our hearts. Jesus made it clear that loving our neighbor comes from the love of God and the Bible also states that the love of God does not come from man, but is given to us by the Holy Spirit[2]. According to the scripture, covetous practices and envy are the works of the flesh[3], but the fruit of the Spirit is love and all it produces[4]. So when we are consumed with envy and covet what belongs to another, this is evidence that the flesh is the focus of our life and we are not walking in the Spirit. Envy is born out of covetousness and as Christians we should understand these symptoms of the flesh so that we can turn from these practices and walk in the Spirit. The flesh constantly works to draw us out of the Spirit by warring against our minds with the things that appeal to human nature[5].

Coveting

Coveting is the thing that draws our heart into the flesh by appealing to our desire for more and is focused on something that belongs to another. Greed is a desire for more while coveting is the desire to possess something that belongs to another. Since the human heart is deceitful above all things[6], we can convince ourselves that coveting is justified. It may be something as blatant as desiring our neighbor’s wife, or something as subtle as believing that someone owes us a share of their possessions. Shoplifters often excuse their stealing by saying that they have so little and the corporation has so much that they can afford the loss. Even if someone or a company has what we believe they don’t deserve, it does not change what is right and wrong. We naturally look at life from a selfish perspective, but God views all things from an eternal perspective. Jesus encountered a man who believed his brother owed him part of an inheritance, but Jesus rebuked this way of thinking. Look at Luke 12:13-15

¹³ And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.

¹⁴ And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?

¹⁵ And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

I have no doubt that this man felt wronged and thought the way to right this wrong was to draw Jesus in as an arbitrator. Perhaps this man came from a wealthy family. For reasons unknown, the father did not include him in the inheritance and it all went to his brother. Now his brother has great wealth and he is struggling. Now that his brother has so much, why should he be selfish and greedy and keep it all to himself? I imagine most of us would feel the same way, but Jesus turned the focus away from the wealth and returned it to the commandments that point to the eternal perspective.

Whether we are wealthy or poor has zero eternal significance for our lives do not consist of the things we possess. Riches are not the evidence of God’s love toward us and do not determine how great our faith is. In fact, they can take our eyes off of faith. A rich man once came to Jesus wanting to find eternal life. He proclaimed that he kept all the commandments from his youth up, including to love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus cut to the heart of the matter when He instructed the rich man to sell all he had and give to the poor, then come and follow Christ and have riches in heaven[7]. This man did not love his neighbor as himself but loved his money above all things. He was willing to trade eternal life for worldly possessions. It is interesting that the Bible says that Jesus loved him and then called him to give up all to follow Him[8]. The issue was that money was this man’s love and the Bible warns that we cannot love God and money[9]; therefore, Jesus asked him to remove the one thing that prevented him from truly loving God.

The Bible does not specifically condemn money or possessions, but does warn that it is very difficult to prevent wealth from drawing our hearts away from God. All we need to do is look around and see the reality of this truth. Our entertainment systems crowd our lives so that we never seem to have time to consistently spend in study and fellowship with God. The more money someone has, the more recreation and entertainment draws their hearts and becomes the focus of life. Often having less is a blessing for we do not have the distractions that consume the lifestyles of the rich and famous. We end up coveting what they have rather than realizing that riches will pass but the treasures we store in heaven are eternal. When we begin to allow our hearts to desire what God has not provided, we defile our lives and allow evil to consume us from within. Look at Mark 7:22-23

²² Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

²³ All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

The Bible warns that our flesh which remains corrupted by sin will war against our minds to attempt to draw us back into the bondage of evil desires. If we allow these things to take over our minds, we will begin to dwell on them and take them into our hearts. Once sin begins to come out of our heart, we are given to self deception and we corrupt our lives with covetousness, thefts, wickedness, deceit and all the things of the flesh. Once sin takes root in our heart, we will justify all our selfish acts and will even claim that God allows these things. Jesus specifically warned us not to love money, not to covet what we do not have and not to seek to store up worldly possessions. When covetousness in our heart corrupts our lives, we will even justify our greed and claim that coveting more is an act of faith. Consider this command from Hebrews 13:

⁵ Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

The Bible does not say that the Lord will not give us good things to enjoy; the Bible warns that we should not desire the world or anything that is in it, not to have conversations born out of covetousness, and to be content with what we have. Look at 1 Timothy 6:3-6

³ If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;

⁴ He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,

⁵ Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain.

The Bible teaches that godliness with contentment is great gain and anyone who teaches otherwise is not following the doctrine of Jesus Christ. These are destitute of the truth and we should withdraw ourselves from these teachers or followers of this doctrine. There are churches whose doctrine is centered around teaching people that gain is the meaning of the Christian life. Some pervert the gospel by claiming that the abundant life is material possessions when the Bible consistently teaches otherwise. If you read the passage where Jesus says, “I came that they might have life and that they might have life more abundantly”[10], money and wealth are never mentioned. The topic in this passage and the surrounding passages are speaking of eternal life and salvation through Him who is our Good Shepherd. The abundant life is our eternal life in Christ and the spiritual maturity that leads us into close fellowship with our God.

Some go as far as to argue that Jesus travelled in a caravan of wealth and was loaded with money. It would have been hypocritical to tell His disciples not to seek wealth and to part with their wealth while He lived in luxury. Consider the possessions of Christ. He was born in a borrowed manger, His first miracle was with borrowed pitchers, He fed five thousand with borrowed fish and bread, He fed four thousand with borrowed fish and bread, He sent Peter to find a fish with a gold coin so He could pay taxes, the last supper was in a borrowed room, His triumphant entry to proclaim Himself as King was on a borrowed donkey, and many of His followers provided for His necessities from their own substance (Luke 8:2-3). Where is the wealth? In fact, the only possessions we see in the scriptures was the clothing that the soldiers took from Him during His crucifixion. When Jesus taught against loving money, the Pharisees derided Him because they were covetous[11]. Not much has changed in two thousand years for religious leaders today view doctrine through covetousness as well. In fact, this was something God specifically condemned in the Old Testament. Look at Jeremiah 6:

¹³ For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

When the people of God lost sight of truth and began to trust in wealth, gaining more became the focus and this corrupted their doctrine and false practices emerged from their lives. The Bible does not condemn wealth; it condemns the pursuit of wealth and condemns trusting in money. Let’s continue looking at 1 Timothy 6:

⁷ For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

⁸ And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

⁹ But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

¹⁰ For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

¹¹ But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

…

¹⁷ Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

¹⁸ That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;

¹⁹ Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

Those who set their affections on material possessions and think that the abundant life is money err from the faith and fall into temptation. The lust for wealth poses a great danger to faith and draws us away from truth. Though possessions in themselves are not evil, the pursuit of money can be and a wise man will flee greed and pursue the things that pertain to godliness. Coveting leads to corruption. This applies to any possession, land, money, looks, spouse, or any other thing that we desire from another. Coveting led King David to commit adultery with his neighbor’s wife. It then led to murder to cover it up. Coveting leads to greed, corruption, wickedness, and much of that wickedness is expressed through envy.

Envy

Envy is a work of the flesh that poses one of the greatest dangers to our foundation of faith. We are commanded to establish everything in our lives upon the love of God and expressing that love toward our neighbor. Love is outward focused but envy only operates within the narrow scope of selfish ambition. Coveting is desiring something that belongs to someone else, but envy is anger toward someone for having something we do not have. This could be a possession, a relationship, talents, abilities or anything else that causes us to resent someone for possessing something we do not have. This is the very reason why Jesus warned that we should beware of covetousness. Coveting produces envy and envy produces hatred. It is impossible to live by faith when any of these are in your life. To beware is to be on guard against something that is a danger and for covetousness and envy this is truly a danger.

There are two products of envy in the Christian walk. First, envy turns our hearts against our neighbor and second, envy turns our hearts against the truth. Let’s look at these two byproducts of envy through the scriptures. An example of envy turning the heart against people can be seen in the trial of Jesus. Look at Matthew 27:17-18

¹⁷ Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?

¹⁸ For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

The Scribes and Pharisees encouraged the people to choose Barabbas. The selection of Barabbas was a testimony against the leaders who delivered Jesus to the Romans. The real motivation these religious leaders had against Jesus was envy. The common people regarded Jesus as a prophet and commented that He taught with authority and not as the Scribes and Pharisees. Jesus modeled righteousness and exposed the hypocrisy of those who were religious but not righteous. They were not willing to change and they knew that as long as Jesus remained, their deeds would be exposed by His teaching and example of living. Their motivation was envy, but their excuse was that if He remained, the people may follow Him and create a conflict with Rome. Look at John 11:47-48

⁴⁷ Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.

⁴⁸ If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

Pilate obviously picked up on this by the accusations they laid against Him so he presented Barabbas as one of the two choices probably thinking that the people would have to select Jesus to be released. Barabbas was the embodiment of all that the Jews claimed they feared about Jesus. Barabbas was a very well known insurrectionist who stole and committed murder in his efforts to try to create an uprising against Rome. The Roman empire ruled over the entire known world at that time and afforded rights and freedoms to the nations under its rule as long as they abided by Roman law and submitted to the Roman governorship. The Jews despised the rule of Rome and rebelled frequently. This ultimately led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. This is also why tax collectors (or publicans in the KJV) were viewed with such disdain. They were looked upon as traitors to the nation because they enforce the tax levies of Rome against their own people.

When given the choice of choosing between Jesus of whom they claimed was an enemy of Rome and Barabbas who was a proven threat to Rome, they selected to release Barabbas and proved that their excuse was only a front to hide their envy. Hatred is the end result of envy. Very seldom will anyone openly acknowledge their hatred toward another individual, but human nature always tries to justify the hatred of envy. This is especially true in the church. Some of the most vindictive behavior of man is found within the walls of the church. I suppose this arises from the same problem Jesus faced. When someone teaches or lives out the gospel in a way that exposes the hypocrisy of others and the hypocrite is not willing to change, envy is born. They envy the godliness of another and grow to despise it because true godliness exposes the pretense of righteousness. If we are only creating a façade of righteousness, we will desire to tear down anyone who lives out the faith we claim to have.

When someone sets out to destroy the person they envy, they will also attempt to justify their actions. Human nature always seeks to build up ourselves even when we are clearly in the wrong. You will hear people say, “It’s the principle of the matter” as they prepare to fight against someone for the most petty things. What principle are they referring to? It is the principle of pride alone. According to scripture, envy comes from pride in our hearts[12] and pride blinds us to our own faults and makes even the wickedness of man appear righteous in his own eyes. This is why someone can go on a search and destroy mission while claiming to be serving God through some unknown principle. This is also why someone can say, “I love them but…” and then tear someone down or take action that clearly shows hatred. Also look at James 3:14-16

¹⁴ But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.

¹⁵ This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

¹⁶ For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

According to the Bible, someone can claim to have wisdom while following the bitterness of envy. When our desire is to retaliate or tear down, this is an alarm that proves that envy has taken root and must be removed. You will find a way to justify your action but the Bible instructs you to reject that devilish illusion of wisdom and never glory in it. Where envy is, there is confusion, strife and evil workings. The confusion is the hypocrisy of those who can disguise their envy as righteous acts. We can always find ways to justify to ourselves the bitter actions of envy and often we can confuse others into thinking our action is biblical; however, this false wisdom is exposed when we bring the true ‘principle of the matter’ into focus – love our neighbor as ourselves. When we look at the Bible’s definition of love found in 1 Corinthians 13, we cannot hide envy. Though we can justify our bitterness under a pretense of holiness, we are warned not to glory in it or lie against the truth. This is explained well in these passages:

Galatians 5:

¹⁴ For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

…

¹⁶ This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

…

¹⁸ But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

The law that governs sin is removed ONLY when we walk in the Spirit. When the Spirit leads us, we are being led into all truth and since the law is kept within our heart, we do not need an outward law to govern our lives. Envy is always sin regardless of what type of words we use to decorate it. We overcome the flesh and our human nature by walking in the Spirit through knowing and living in the word. If the worlds most learned religious men turned upon the Lord from heaven through envy, we should take great heed to be on guard against it in our own lives. Love and envy cannot coexist; therefore, we must turn our hearts away from envy.

(Part 2)

Envy also turns our heart from the truth. A good example of this can be seen in Acts 13:44-45

⁴⁴ And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.

⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.

In this passage, Paul and Barnabas went on a mission trip to Antioch to introduce the gospel to the people. In the beginning of Christianity, the apostles spent most of their time going into Jewish synagogues to share the gospel. The Jewish culture and social life revolved around the synagogue. Unlike the temple, gentiles (or non-Jews) were allowed into the synagogues. The Old Testament was read and taught in these Jewish houses of worship. If you read the epistles of Paul you will see that most of his teachings are focused on explaining how that the Old Testament is pointing to Jesus Christ. Since those in the synagogues knew the Old Testament well, this became the common ground by which the gospel could be shared and more easily understood. The Jews greatly valued the traditions of the elders and since the leaders rejected Christ, the gospel was spoken against in almost every synagogue[13]. The gentiles had no such custom and were very open to the message of the gospel.

In Antioch, Paul and Barnabas began to preach Jesus from the Old Testament and prove scripturally that what Jesus finished was a fulfillment of the things in the Old Testament – including the works of the Law. This teaching began to intrigue many people from both the Jews and the gentile proselytes. They spread the word and almost the whole town came to hear this message brought by the apostles. When the leaders of the synagogues saw the crowds, they were moved with envy. Their envy caused them to reject the truth and begin to blaspheme as they attempted to discredit Paul and Barnabas. Now the leaders were so focused on their envy against the apostles that they were completely blinded to the truth of the gospel. They could not draw a crowd like that and since their focus was on their own egos, they resented what they deemed to be the success of others.

We see this in the church today. When someone shows success, many begin to envy them and resent that success. The truth is that success does not belong to man and what we deem as success often does not have eternal significance. A large crowd does not always indicate a move of God, but there are times when God will exalt someone in order to draw others to hear the truth. When a teacher or preacher sees someone else succeeding in drawing a crowd, envy attempts to arise in their heart. We have the power to cast out that envy by setting our hearts on the things above and bringing every thought back into subjection to Christ[14]. How we respond to envy (and all temptations that arise in our minds) reveals whether we are walking in the Spirit or living according to the flesh. We cannot control what thoughts arise suddenly in our minds, but we can control whether or not we dwell on those thoughts or reject them.

Envy is not always directed toward members of the church, we can also envy those who live in the pleasures of the world. Wanting the things of the world can draw us away from what has true significance. Look at these two passages from Proverbs:

Proverbs 23:17-18

¹⁷ Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.

¹⁸ For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.

Proverbs 3:31-32

³¹ Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.

³² For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.

The Bible warns us not to love the world or the things in the world. If we allow our heart to love these things we cannot have the love of God. Look at 1 John 2:15-17

¹⁵ Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

¹⁷ And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Lusting after the world, things, or pleasures always takes us outside of the will of God. People look at the surgically sculptured celebrities of Hollywood and become discontented with their own lives. People see the lifestyles of the rich and famous and become discontented with what they have. People look around and see others that have more and are discontented or resentful. Do we not understand that all these things have zero eternal significance? When we stand before God, will we care who was the prettiest, most handsome, richest, or lived in the most luxury? No, all these things will pass away and be dissolved. Anyone who invests their lives in the temporal will suffer loss and have no eternal significance in their lives.

I had a discussion with a man who was so focused on his unappealing looks that it completely ruled his life. All he could see was that people thought he was ugly and nothing could make up for that. He was angry at God and could not accept that he had value outside of his appearance. Contrast that with a man named Dan Roever. Dan was in Vietnam and had a sniper shoot a phosphorous grenade while it was in his hand. It exploded and sent the hot phosphorous all over his body and caused extensive damage. His face was grossly disfigured and for many years he looked more like a monster than a man. He has had a prosthetic ear made and glasses to compensate a little, but his looks became his testimony of God’s love. Even though it is only natural to feel self-conscious about our appearance, he used it to reach many with the love of Christ. He has had inroads into schools, the military, youth, and television. He once said that his appearance made people look at him and listen to his message. He said that people channel surfing that would normally go by his sermons might catch a glimpse of his face and say, “Goodness, what is that?!” and keep watching. The only difference between these two men is their focus on what has true eternal significance.

Our contentment or envy reveals to us where our heart lies. This is true for appearance, personalities, talents, and possessions. The Bible warns us not to envy one another, not to desire the things of the world, and not to trust in uncertain riches. The Bible even tells us that if riches do increase, not to set our hearts upon them but to realize that they may be taken away from us[15]. Unfortunately, many churches now teach the Christian to love riches, desire the world, and to set your heart upon wealth. There are people who teach that we must take back the wealth of the world and even sings songs about going to the devil’s camp to take back the wealth he supposedly stole from us. The Bible warns us not to have our conversations filled with gaining the things we do not possess. Look at Hebrews 13:

⁵ Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

It is covetousness to set your heart and conversations on gaining the things God has not provided. It is envy to allow ourselves to become jealous of those who have the things God has not given to us. The Bible never puts our focus on gaining the things of the world. Not only that, but the Bible even instructs us not to worry ourselves about money and the necessities of life. Look at Matthew 6:

²⁵ Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

²⁶ Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

²⁷ Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

²⁸ And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

²⁹ And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

³⁰ Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

³¹ Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

³² (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

³³ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Do not stretch this passage out of its intended meaning. This passage is not saying that if you seek the kingdom of God you will gain wealth and worldly prosperity. Jesus is instructing us that God is concerned about meeting our needs and we should not focus our lives on worrying about the things we need for survival, but rather to set our focus on seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness. Our natural tendency is to become self focused and be so concerned about our physical lives that we completely lose sight of the things that have eternal significance. Jesus is calling us to take our focus off self and put it upon the Kingdom of God and the righteousness of God. As we seek to live within the righteousness of God, our lives are cleansed of the world and we are free to seek the things that have eternal significance. If you gain all the wealth of the world it means nothing for the scripture states that all will be dissolved and will perish with the world[16]. We are promised food and clothing and from this we should be content. If God chooses to add more, it is the benevolence of God but still must not be our focus for it also is passing and could pass even in our lifetime.

Another passage that causes confusion because it is often twisted by those who justify greed is Jesus’ teaching on the hundredfold reward. The Bible tells us that when Jesus taught against the love of money, the Pharisees derided Him because they were covetous. Those whose focus is on money in the church today also deride those who believe the teachings of scripture that warn against loving money. Look at the passage that is twisted into the misconception of ‘the hundredfold blessing’ from Matthew 19:27-30

²⁷ Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

²⁸ And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

²⁹ And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

³⁰ But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

The first thing you should note is that the apostles forsook all. If you look at the life of the apostles, they acknowledge that they and many in the persecuted church lost houses, land, and possessions because they followed Christ. Paul stated that he lost everything but counted it as garbage for the excellence of knowing Christ[17]. The members of the persecuted church suffered the plundering of their goods but joyfully accepted this worldly loss for the joy of an enduring inheritance in heaven[18]. The problem is that people are taking figurative language and trying to claim something that God never intended. Those who have forsaken all are not promised one hundred times more in this life for how can we have one hundred mothers, fathers, and wives?

If Jesus’ promise can’t be applied to mothers, fathers, and wives, why would we force its application on lands and houses? The truth is that this is applying to the abundant life which is spiritual and not material. The early church could joyfully endure the plundering of their possessions because of the satisfaction they experienced in their walk with God in this life as well as the expectations of the promise awaiting them in the life to come. If the abundant life is wealth and worldly prosperity, only the rich and famous are loved by God. Look at the lives of the rich and famous and see if this is true. We see no character, no contentment and a string of tragedies and broken relationships in the wealthy elite. In fact, the suicide rate among the wealthiest class is significantly higher than any other economic class of people.

Jesus gave the hundredfold promise directly to the apostles, but they did not live in wealth and prosperity as we have already seen. The truth is that you can live on thousands of acres, a mansion, a luxurious lifestyle and have millions in the bank and still have an empty and unfulfilled life. Contrast that with Paul who lived in a prison and stated that he was content and lived in joy. The abundant life and the hundredfold blessing apply to the depth of your faith and spiritual walk that is available to you if you are willing to seek it. The hundredfold blessing is revealed in this passage I frequently refer to. Look again at Proverbs 2:1-9

¹ My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

² So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

³ Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

⁴ If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

⁵ Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

⁶ For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

⁷ He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

⁸ He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

⁹ Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

This is the abundant life and the hundredfold blessing. The depths of the knowledge of God’s holiness, wisdom and understanding holds true value for it is for this life and the life to come. Through this abundance, you will understand righteousness, judgment, uprightness and every good spiritual path of God. This is only to those who forsake all in this life and seek first the righteousness of God. It is not your righteousness; it is the righteousness of God that is laid up with wisdom and understanding for anyone who will love it enough to seek it more than treasures. If we honestly look at the doctrines we have examined, we see a great contrast. There are those who seek the world and find emptiness and those who forsake all and find eternity. Jesus said that if we seek and find life in this world, in truth we lose it. If we lose our lives in this world for His sake, we find it[19]. One doctrine appeals to the flesh and one leads us by the Spirit. These two cannot agree for one is of the Spirit and the other is of the flesh. Covetous and envy are always of the flesh but contentment and godly love are always of the Spirit.

Dealing with Envy

Ultimately envy destroys the life of its possessor as the person attempts to destroy others. I was listening to a radio program where a bitter person called in and stated that she would give up everything she possessed and live in poverty if she could have the pleasure of seeing these rich people lose their BMWs. Do you think she would find lasting contentment if she got her wish? The truth is that if someone is not content with what they have, they will not be content with anything. This holds true whether we are striving to gain more possessions or attempting to rob others we may feel do not deserve their possessions. Envy is a disease of the heart or as Proverbs 14:30 states:

A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.

Where you find envy you will never find contentment, peace, and godly joy. An unfortunate reality is that we were born in a body of sin and the flesh constantly rises up to try to bring us under bondage again. Covetousness and envy are works of the flesh and each of us will be tempted to covet what we do not possess and envy someone else for what they have or privileges they possess. We should not be surprised when these feelings arise, but we also must not allow them to fester in our hearts. The problem with envy is that it makes us feel justified as it masquerades as righteous indignation or causes us to feel as though we are defending against an enemy. When we judge through the flesh, we convince ourselves that the one we envy is an enemy. This is in spite of the fact that we are also commanded to love our enemies. It is the love of God drives out envy unless we resist the love of God. We escape envy through faithfulness to the word as we are established in the love of God. Look now at 1 Corinthians 13:

⁴ Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

When envy arises, we are not walking in love. The word ‘charity’ in the King James Version is the word ‘agape’ – or the love of God which has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We can examine our attitudes and judge our own lives to see if we are walking in the love of God. If we have ‘agape’, it does not envy, does not boast itself, is not puffed up, but it is kind and shows great patience. So when we see patience, love and kindness being produced in our lives toward other people, we know that God is maturing us as we walk in the Spirit. If we are struggling with envy, pride and selfish ambitions, this is the evidence that the flesh is the driving force in our lives and we must surrender these things to the Lord. Learning how to live in the word of God is the key to learning how to walk in the love of God. Jesus stated that we are made clean by the word of God[20]. We are also told that the love of God is perfected in us by faithfully obeying the word. Look at 1 John 2:

⁵ But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

If you are not faithfully studying and walking in the word, you are likely struggling with the flesh. Outwardly we can have an appearance of godliness to those around us even while we are corrupt within. Jesus explained to the Pharisees that they appeared righteous to men but inwardly were filled with corruption[21]. Just as the religious men of Jesus’ day appeared godly at first but eventually were so consumed with envy that they conspired against Jesus, as our corruption increases, what is hidden inward will begin to emerge in our lives unless we deal with it and crucify the works of the flesh. This comes by turning away from the desires of the flesh as we grow in the word. This is explained in 1 Peter 2:1-3

¹ Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

² As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

³ If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Some try to lay aside these works of the flesh without dedicating themselves to prayer and the word, but the success is short lived at best. What they are doing is leaving a vacuum in their life. When the word is absent, we are resisting the sins of the flesh by efforts of the flesh and that simply cannot work to produce godliness. Jesus said, “That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit[22]”. He then went on to say that the flesh profits nothing, but it is the Spirit that gives life[23]. Many try to live a good life by human efforts and at times this can have an outward appearance of good; however, nothing eternal can come by human effort and nothing born of the flesh is truly good. Only God is good. When the rich ruler came to Jesus to find out how to have eternal life, he called Jesus ‘Good Master’. Jesus rebuked him because he was looking at the flesh and measuring goodness based on outward appearance instead of looking at God alone as the source of all good[24]. In one event Jesus rebuked those who called Him good because they were looking at the flesh, but afterward He stated, “I am the good shepherd” as He called men to salvation[25]. Jesus taught that we should not judge based on appearance, but that we should judge when we are doing so based on righteousness[26].

When our judgment is based on human standards, our judgment is rebuked by God for we have no true basis to determine what is good and what is not. It is by the word of God that we discover what is good and learn to lay aside the works of the flesh and grow by the milk of the word toward true maturity. Pride appears good to the flesh and many proclaim that we stand by the “power of pride”. The Bible makes the distinction between boasting in the Lord and boasting in ourselves. Since our heart is deceitful above all things, we can boast in ourselves while convincing ourselves that this boasting is of the Lord. It is the word that becomes the plumb line that reveals what appears to be straight but is actually crooked. The word exposes our lives and reveals what threatens our holiness as it also leads us toward the right way. Look also at Psalm 119:35-37

³⁵ Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.

³⁶ Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.

³⁷ Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.

The word truly is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. It reveals the things that hinder us as it shows us the right way that leads to life. Life is found in the way of righteousness. The flesh delights in covetousness but the life grounded in the word delights in the way of righteousness. The flesh promises life through covetousness but only delivers rottenness in our bones, but the Spirit gives us life and quickens us in the way.

The love of God is given to us through the word of God and it is that love that perfects us, keeps us from the corruption of the flesh, and guides us into the love of our neighbor. This is why the chapter of love ends with this passage from 1 Corinthians 13:

¹³ And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity [or love].

The greatest of these is love because through God’s love in our lives, faith and hope have their existence. It is through the word that we grow into the love of God and overcome covetousness, envy, and all the works of the flesh.

Eddie Snipes

Exchanged Life Outreach

http://www.exchangedlife.com

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