Love does not envy
1) There are many ways to communicate with someone.
2) People who know each other well can often communicate with just a look.
3) A hand signal is often an effective means of communication.
4) A lot of our communication is related to context.
5) Certain words and actions may mean one thing in a certain set of circumstances.
6) In another set of circumstances, the words and actions may mean something completely different.
7) For our Scripture reading we heard two passages read.
a) First, there was 1 Cor. 12:31 – “earnestly desire spiritual gifts.”
b) In the first century there were spiritual gifts.
c) People could speak with tongues (human languages they had never learned).
d) This ability was needed to take the gospel into the entire world.
e) Since the New Testament was not yet written, people had the gift of knowledge.
f) Christians were able to prophecy, heal, and some raised the dead.
g) Paul told the Corinthians to “earnestly desire” spiritual gifts.
h) Bearing this passage in mind, let’s look once more at 1 Cor. 13:4 – READ.
8) Paul said love does not “envy.” The word envy is the same term used in 1 Cor. 12:31.
9) By knowing it is the same word used in both places we can determine the basic sense of the term.
10) It describes a strong emotion. In 12:31, the emotion is one of desire, possession, receiving something.
11) In 13:4, the emotion is something to be avoided.
12) Another place in the Bible where we find this word is Acts 5.
a) Sick people were being healed by people who had the power of the Holy Spirit.
b) The Bible says the high priest and others were “filled with jealousy” (our word for envy).
c) A positive use of the word is found by John in Rev. 3:19 – through him Jesus said, “Be zealous.”
d) Zealous is the same word, and it tells us envy is an intense and powerful word.
13) It describes things that are intensely good and intensely bad.
14) Since 1 Cor. 13:4 says love “envies not,” Paul was dealing with the negative aspect of this word.
15) There are people in life who envy others, and this emotion is very, very strong.
a) Envy occurs when we see what someone else has and we want that for ourselves.
b) Envy brings someone to the point where they have bitter resentment against another person.
16) Maybe one of the best illustrations for what this word means is found in the life of Joseph.
17) Acts 7:9 says Joseph’s brothers were moved against Joseph because of “envy.”
18) The KJV uses the word “envy” that is an excellent translation.
19) The ASV unfortunately used the word “jealousy” in Acts 7:9. The right word is envy.
20) Because of envy Joseph’s brothers sold him.
21) Let’s go back to the book of Genesis to get a first hand look at envy.
a) Our study begins in Gen. 37.
b) Gen. 37:2 tells us that Joseph was only 17 years old.
c) The envy in Joseph’s life was furthered by his father.
22) Gen. 37:3 – READ.
23) When more than one child is in a household there are often claims about unequal love.
24) One will say they were treated worse than a sibling.
25) After children become adults they may talk about how one was preferred above the others.
26) Sometimes children think they were loved less than the others and that is not true.
27) In other cases, such as here, it is true.
28) Gen. 37 offers some parenting advice: work to show equal love to all children in a family.
29) If that is not done, there will be problems, one of which is envy.
30) Children notice unequal love – verse 4 – READ. Envy can even be in the home.
31) When a person begins to envy someone, hate it is usually not far behind – verse 5 – READ.
32) Not only is envy often tied to hate, it is sometimes a key component in murder – verse 18 – READ.
33) Let’s pause here for a moment and again think about what envy is.
a) It is a desire to have what someone else has.
b) Joseph’s brothers saw what he had and they were envious.
c) Envy is bitter resentment towards someone, and often leads to jealousy.
d) We see these feelings in the lives of his brothers in verses 24-25 – READ.
e) Every time Joseph’s brothers saw his special coat they must have been envious.
f) On this day they took the coat from him. They cast him into an empty pit (a well).
g) Then they sat down for a meal.
h) Envy is an ugly emotion. It will often lead people to behave in disgraceful ways.
i) Envy will bring out the worst in people as they deal with their friends.
j) It will disgrace people as they deal with their coworkers and their enemies.
k) It will also destroy families.
l) In the case of Joseph, envy did not stop with the actions we have read.
m) Joseph was sold to some people – verse 27.
34) We can see how Joseph’s experiences must have been similar to things at Corinth.
35) Certain Christians at Corinth possessed one or more spiritual gifts.
36) These brethren looked at other Christians who had different supernatural abilities.
37) They then “envied” what others had and this led to problems.
38) Envy is just not a sin limited to the world. It is not limited to young people who do not know better.
39) Envy can be a problem for Christians.
40) Hence, as Paul described love in 1 Cor. 13, he said love “envies not.”
41) Growing up I heard the expression, “Keeping up with the Jones’.”
a) The neighborhood where I spent most of my life is still where my parents still live.
b) Most of the lots in that subdivision are ½ - ¾ of an acre.
c) For the past 20 or so years my parents have seen a pattern.
d) One neighbor will buy a new lawn tractor. Not long after that another neighbor does the same thing.
e) Not only do neighbors buy lawn tractors, they buy the same brand (John Deere).
f) In years past it was often enough to keep up with others – neighbors, friends, coworkers.
g) Times have changed. It is now no longer enough to just want and get what others have.
h) Americans have been persuaded to want more than others have and get more.
i) Envy has been taken to a whole new level.
42) All of this is really not new. Solomon commented on it many years ago in Eccl. 4:4.
a) The wise man spoke about labor and skillful work.
b) He recognized there were people who succeeded in life.
c) He also understood that people looked at these “success stories” and envied them.
d) We can see success in someone else’s life and we in turn want what they have.
e) If you have not realized this little fact, let me share it with you. Envy is a great marketing tool.
43) Who here has not seen an infomercial on buying and selling real estate?
a) The person selling a real estate program trots out some success stories.
b) It is said that with only a few hours a week a person can make a six-figure income.
c) We can work from our home, set our own hours, and be our own boss for the rest of our lives.
d) Envy is at the core of what is being pitched to the public.
e) We are told to look at what others have and then pay some money so we can do what others do.
f) Would you believe the Bible says “envy rots the bones”?
44) That would be interesting question for a quiz show.
45) If this question were asked, the right answer would be “yes.”
46) Prov. 14:30 says envy does rot the bones.
47) When we look at envy we see why this is true.
a) Envy encompasses a whole host of areas.
b) We can see what others have regarding physical strength.
c) Then We want to be as strong or stronger as those we see.
48) If it is not physical strength, it may be appearance. We may envy how someone else looks.
49) Envy may related to wealth – we envy someone else because of how much money they have.
50) We may envy someone because of their job – we would like the job someone we know has.
51) We may envy the mate someone has, or the children from another family.
52) We can envy the type of car someone drives, the home they have, or the vacations they take.
53) One of the Ten Commandments can be directly related to envy (Ex. 20:17).
a) God said to the Hebrew people, “Do not covet thy neighbor’s house, wife, or man servant.
b) “Do not covet his ox, ass, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
c) Envy is a problem, and that means a problem among religious people.
d) Preachers can envy one another. Congregations can envy one another.
e) The remedy for envy is love.
f) Are we guilty of envy?
g) Envy is such an easy sin to commit.
h) It is also a dangerous sin because it can lead to so many terrible things.
54) The young and old can envy.
55) God calls us to love. Love begins with obedience.