The Folly of Jealousy

James gives us the following warning about having a heart full of jealousy or envy:

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

-James 3:14-16

A jealous heart, according to God’s word, has been influenced by our own selfish desires, the ungodly values of the world, and the devil himself. Such a heart will not produce good outcomes. Jealousy was, in fact, the sinister force behind the first homicide (Genesis 4:1-8).

It is foolish to be jealous or envious of others. I would like you to consider four realities we have forgotten (or chose to ignore) when we are consumed by jealousy and envy.

First and foremost, a jealous heart has forgotten the grace of God.

Grace is at the heart of the gospel. It is the truth that because of what Christ has done on my behalf, I receive something from God that I have not earned and do not even deserve. What I deserve is judgement and rejection. But through Christ I receive just the opposite: forgiveness, mercy, and even adoption as a child of God.

It’s impossible for me to be jealous of others when I consider the amazing grace that God has expressed towards me!

Next, a jealous heart has forgotten the goodness of God.

Not only is God gracious, He is good. Any good thing I have in life is because God has, in His goodness, given it to me (James 1:17).

It’s foolish to be jealous of others because they may be blessed differently than I. I could, for example, choose to be jealous of people with a full head of hair. But I would rather be thankful that, at 50+ years old, I have a body that still works.

I can choose to be jealous or to be grateful, but I can’t be both.

A jealous heart has forgotten the sovereignty and wisdom of God.

Have you ever been thankful that God did not give you what you wanted? I’ve lost count of the number of times when I have been disappointed, only to discover that receiving what I asked for would have been disastrous!

I have learned that God closes doors for a reason. I can trust Him to give me what I need, when I need it. What He chooses to give someone else has no bearing on His plan for my life. I pray that you will learn the same lesson (maybe sooner than I have).

Finally, a jealous heart has forgotten that things are not always as they appear.

A couple of weeks ago I watched a video of a woman tearfully confessing that she and her husband were separated. I don’t know much about her, but she and her family apparently have millions of social media followers. I’m sure many of them were shocked by the news. How could a seemingly happy family fall apart with no warning?

The answer is pretty simple: things were not as they seemed. Social media bombards us with images of perfect, happy lives. I get it–I have no desire to post videos/photos of my worst moments.

But we must be mindful of this: what you see on social media is a highly edited version of one’s life. If you are not careful you may find yourself being envious of an illusion–of a life that doesn’t even exist in reality.

Father, forgive me for those times I have allowed jealousy and envy to reign in my heart. I pray that I will instead have a heart full of gratitude for your grace, goodness, and wisdom–all of which have been so richly expressed in my life.

2024: The Year in Review

It’s time to post a quick review as 2025 approaches. These updates/highlights are in no particular order.

Church/Ministry

I finished preaching through the Gospel of Matthew this year (a series which lasted around two years). I thoroughly enjoyed studying the life, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I preached through Colossians to finish out the year.

We went through Experiencing God for our Wednesday night study a while back and I think everyone found it very encouraging.

We have been blessed with quite a few baptisms this year. We praise God that we were able to see children and adults publicly profess their faith in Christ!

We also had our usual yearly ministry events, such as Vacation Bible School and Trunk or Treat. One of the great joys I have as a pastor and as a dad is to see my son enjoy our children’s ministry.

Clark: Our First-Grader

Clark completed kindergarten last spring and is now in first grade. He ended up with the same teacher he had in pre-kindergarten, which we were excited about. I jokingly told his teacher she would get to experience “Clark 2.0” (a better behaved version compared to pre-kindergarten). Clark is a very smart boy and we are proud of his academic progress.

Notable Books

I met Don Dent years ago in Thailand during a missionary meeting. He was a regional leader of the International Mission Board (IMB) at the time. I ran into him again back in 2018 when I was studying at Gateway Seminary. We had lunch together and talked about missions, the state of the IMB, etc. I was eager to read his thoughts in Finding Direction to Redeem the Nations. This book has valuable insights about missions from both the Scriptures and Dent’s personal experience on the mission field. I would recommend it for anyone who is thinking about missions strategy.

I met Richard, Henry, and Daniel Blackaby years ago when they did a ministry tour in the Philippines. I have also used Experiencing God Day by Day as a daily devotional throughout the years. But I had never gone through the original series until this year. As I mentioned earlier, I decided to take our church through Experiencing God on Wednesday nights. I read the trade book before we went through the workbook and video series. This material has powerful principles for listening to God and seeing Him at work in your daily life.

This Hope Remains by Christi Rogers Gibson. John Gibson, a professor at NOBTS, was one of the many who were exposed during the Ashley Madison scandal of 2015. He made the tragic decision to commit suicide. I remember watching his funeral online back in 2015. I bought this book and read through it in an hour or so–I wanted to hear how things turned out for his wife. She has demonstrated incredible courage by being so vulnerable and sharing her story with the world. This book is a painful but beautiful testimony of God working in her life and redeeming tragedy for His glory.

The last book I read in 2024 was Courageous Faith: My Story From a Life of Obedience by the late Charles Stanley. I listened to dozens of Charles Stanley sermons back in the late 80’s and early 90’s and will always consider him to be one of the most influential people in my spiritual life. Courageous Faith is an abbreviated biography which emphasizes the challenges Stanley has faced in his life and how God saw Him through each one. I enjoyed learning more about the life of one of my favorite preachers and I was encouraged by his testimony of God’s faithfulness.

Family

Mare Cris and I celebrated 12 years of marriage back in March. We are grateful for God’s faithfulness in our lives!

Cris has continued to lead the music ministry at church and helps out in many other ways. I’m thankful to have a life/ministry partner like her!

We have continued our tradition of visiting Alabama during the summer and holiday season. We had a family reunion of sorts back in July when we celebrated the 80th birthday of one of my relatives. I saw some family members that I haven’t seen in years (and they got to meet Cris and Clark in person for the first time).

Happy New Year! May God grant you a blessed 2025!