Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: ENVY (jealousy of another’s advantage) (02/12/15)
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TITLE: Envy - A Four Letter Word | Previous Challenge Entry
By Thomas Meyer
02/19/15 -
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Dictionary.com defines Envy as, “a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions, etc.” But why should people in the church be envious of another person’s possessions, position, or status? We should applaud our brother, or sister’s, success. After all, we pray for them when they are in need - physically, spiritually, and financially, and we often part company with, “Be Blessed” instead of good-bye.
Who would have thought that “Envy” would.be a problem among the loving members of the church? God!
God was so convinced that Envy would be a problem that he included it in the 10 Commandments, first in Exodus 20:17 “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's” (KJV) then he reiterated it in Deutronomy 5:21 “Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's” (KJV).
Some in the church will say that that is Old Testament Law, and the church, and its members, are now under grace. True! But God, in His infinite wisdom, knowing man’s knack for justifying his actions, repeated the command again in Romans 7:7 “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet” (KJV), and once more in Romans 13:9 “ … Thou shalt not covet …” (KJV).
Envy is a powerful force that often drives a wedge between those who have, and those who want what they have, but it usually starts out small. A brother, or sister in the church gets something new, a job, car, house, significant other, or a church position. At first people are happy for them, but then the Devil starts planting seeds of discontent in a person’s mind. If the person does not stop and rebuke the negative thoughts he, or she, is having, it will remain in their conscience and as they meditate on it, it will start to fester and grow. When it finally does erupt, it will cause a lot of damage. In many cases, people leave the local church, or worse yet, Christianity altogether. In extreme cases, churches have split, and many Christians are severely spiritually wounded.
This problem is not new to today’s church, it goes back all the way back to the Disciples. Instead of being content that they were included in Jesus’ inner circle of 12, they argued over who would be the greatest among them - Luke 9:46 “Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest” (KJV).
So, how is “Envy” kept out of the Body of Christ? God gave the key at the end of Romans 13:9 “ … and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (KJV).
Christians need to be sensitive to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, and when they are, they will hear the warnings He gives. In the case of “Envy” the Christian will realize in the Spirit that he, or, she, is beginning to have hard feelings about another person’s prosperity. At that point, the Christian has to stop and pray, rebuking the covetousness and praising God for the blessings in his, or her, life. Then, the Christian needs to complete the last part of Romans 13:9 by praying God’s favor over the person he, or she, was being envious of.
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Nicely done.
God bless
For me personally, I think the beginning might have had a greater pull if instead of giving the definition, if you started off with an example. For example something like this might work: Glaring at the new-comer sitting one pew back, Zoe snorted and rolled her eyes. Seriously, who is she trying to impress wearing that huge diamond in church? Zoe fingered her petite fake diamond as her stomach bubbled. Suddenly, she elbowed her husband in his ribs.
I took a lot of liberties to show you what I mean, but I wanted to show you what I meant.
Your way is by no means incorrect. Depending on what you're trying to achieve and who your audience is, your way may be perfect. I just wanted to share my opinion and show another way.
You definitely write with a passion that is palpable and I am impressed by that. Although you did use the topic word quite a bit, you definitely nailed the topic and presented the reader with something she can definitely relate to. Your message is one that we all need reminding of from time to time. It's sad the way some people behave in church. God certainly knows us well. I especially enjoyed that point. He knew what we would need and while somethings change over the years, human nature pretty much remains the same. Good job.
God BLess~