Proverbs 27:4 says quote “Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? ” End quote ESV Today| would like to talk to you about jealousy and I would like to persuade you why it is wrong. through my personal experiences, biblical examples. And we will be taking a look at what causes jealousy, and how it affects us. when I was younger I struggled immensely with being jealous, and for the most part I was jealous of my younger sister, If she got the blue dress and I got the pink one, I was jealous. If she got the brunette doll and I got the blond one I was jealous. ut truly, the underlying issue was that I was jealous of other peoples possessions… Proverbs 6:34 says quote “For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge. ” End quote ESV another area | struggled in with jealous was over my older brother… he was constantly aloud to watch the movies that I wasn’t aloud, and for good reason, not that they were inappropriate but because they were meant for an older and more mature audience. I can’t count the amount of nights over the years that I have gone to bed thinking jealous thoughts about a sibling.
I wasted a lot of energy and time being jealous and mad. And I will never get that time back, what a waste! One of the stories that comes to mind when I hear the word jealousy is in Christmas of 2006|| found myself in a faze of obsession over American girl dolls along with my sister. We had just sat down to open presents, we were tearing throw the wrapping paper, I was ahead of my sister and as I opened gift of a pink Felicity dress and boots for my doll l glanced over at my sister to see what she had received, I saw that it was a blue floral dress with boots for her doll. ow a seed of jealousy popped into my heart and started to grow there, I wanted that dress so badly I started to pout, and I probably pouted for 5 to 10 minutes before my mother asked me what was wrong and of course I told her nothing, but being the good mother that she was she soon realized something was wrong, maybe it was the longing glances I kept throwing in the direction of that dress and boots or maybe mothers just know these things I’m not sure, but as soon as she found out my jealousy she took my dress and boots away but later gave them back once I had apologized and asked for forgiveness.
I think that this incident and many others like it have helped me to realize that I was an extremely jealous child, well these incidences and my mom. And believe me, I still struggle with it today, and it doesn’t help when you are stubborn and head strong, like I am. 1 Corinthians 3:3 says quote “for you are still of the flesh, for while there is jealousy and strife among you are you not of the flesh and behaving in human ways? ” End quote. And although I did not feel it then, Tam grateful for all the corrections I got then and still to this day…
You will find in Genesis 37 the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors. In summary Jacob father of Joseph loved Joseph more then any of his other children now this and other things like Joseph’s multi colored coat and dreams caused Joseph’s brothers to be jealous of him. one day Joseph’s brothers were out in the fields tending there sheep. Jacob soon began to wonder if all was well with his sons, so he called Joseph to his side saying go to your brothers and bring me back news.
So Joseph went, now his brothers saw him coming from far off and said here comes our brother the dreamer then they conspired to kill him. So when Joseph arrived they caught him and threw him into a pit, but not long after traveling merchants came buy on there way to Egypt and the brothers seeing that they could get rid of him without shedding blood sold Joseph… whenever I hear this storyl cringe inwardly and ask myself how could siblings let there jealousy over shadow there good judgment enough to sell a brother into slavery.
Another biblical example that comes to mind is found in Genesis 4 and it is the story of Cain and Abel. in summary Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer. One day Cain and Abel brought to the lord an offering, Abel brought to the lord the firstborn lamb of his flock, and the lord was pleased. Then Cain brought to the lord an offering of fruit, and the lord was not happy. Now Cain became mad and that soon turned to jealousy, so Cain lured Abel out to his field and killed him… hen the lord asked Cain where Abel was and Cain replied with an angry and jealous heart, “am I my brothers keeper? ” These two stories just go to show what jealousy can do to someone’s heart, and although I am sure none of you have ever sold or killed a sibling, all of us have experienced jealous thoughts and feelings at some point in time. Did you know that The part of the brain that allows you to think jealous thoughts is Ocalled the cerebral (serebel) cortex!
Some of you may know what the cerebral cortex is, but I for one know that I had never heard of it before I started research, so the cerebral cortex is The layer of gray matter in vertebrates that covers the cerebral hemispheres and it is composed of folds of neurons and axons. The cerebral cortex is responsible for higher functions of the nervous system, including muscle activity, learning and language. And While it may never be possible to completely avoid having jealous feelings and thoughts, I do believe it is possible to control jealous behavior.
For example, friends and those in romantic relationships should avoid the pitfalls of jealousy by being honest with each other to avoid a build-up of unspoken emotions. Negative feelings tend to ferment over time and present themselves in an unflatteringly jealous ways. proverbs 14:30 says quote “a peaceful heart leads to a healthy body, but jealousy is like cancer to the bones. ” End quote. Jealousy can be a destructive emotion both mentally and physically. Jealous people tend to feel hostile, resentful, angry and irritable.
Any strong emotion felt by a human would take a toll and will definitely be evident in a person. The effects could be bags under the eyes, hair loss, gain of weight or loss of weight. changes because of stress and jealousy can often be shocking. Psychological effects May effect each person differently it can cause depression. In an issue issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology by Sarah Hill, Danielle DelPriore, and Phillip Vaughan who are semantic scholars at Texas Christian college and the university of Texas.
Explored some negative consequences of jealousy, Quote “When you are experiencing jealousy, it seems to get in the way of doing other thinking. There is quite a bit of research suggesting that stressful emotions can get in the way of thinking. Jealousy is Like stress. Consistent with the research on stress, people who were experiencing jealousy spent more time than people who were not jealous working to do a difficult task in which they had to unscramble letters to form words. Since envy is an unhealthy emotion, how can you prevent it from occurring?
The first step is to recognize and label these feelings as jealousy. ” End quote this may be harder than it sounds, Because jealousy is considered a socially unacceptable emotion, many of us deny having these feelings, but all of us have. The negative aspects of jealousy are obvious, but can it ever yield positive results? I strongly believe that jealousy in any shape or form is wrong. James 3:16 says quote “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. ” End quote.
ESV I also feel that Jealous individuals are also less likely to feel grateful about their positive traits and their circumstances. Jealousy is also related to anxiety, the development of prejudice, and personal unhappiness. In addition, most people don’t want to hang out with a jealous person because they are unpleasant to be around. As a result, jealous people have fewer friends overall, as well as fewer friends who will help out in a time of need. Worse, when a jealous person receives help, she or he tends to feel resentful that assistance was necessary in the first place.
Since jealousy is an unhealthy emotion, how can you prevent it from occurring? I feel that keeping and maintaining trust is a key ingredient to avoiding jealous situations. also sensitivity is vital to recognizing the cues that upset and worry other people. I hope that today I have persuaded you that jealousy is wrong. And that in order to become better people we must all recognize jealousy and try to avoid having jealous thoughts and feelings toward others. And when you feel yourself becoming discouraged think to Psalms 27:36 which says quote “My flesh and my heart ma