Daily Devotion: Envy

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 27:1-10 

Key Verse: Verse 4 –“Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?”

Key Words: who is able to stand before envy

There is a marked difference between envy and jealousy.  Jealousy is when you don’t want people to have what you have.  For example, King Saul was jealous of David.  He didn’t want him to have his kingdom.  Envy, on the other hand, is when you want what others have.  We read in Genesis 26:14 that the Philistines envied Isaac because of all he had.

Envy is a great destroyer.  When you find envious people, you’ll find a life of turmoil and bitterness.  Envy will destroy you.

Dwight L. Moody once told the fable of an eagle that 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.

What to do:
✞ Ask God to remove the envy from your life.

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