1 Sam
20:1-3, 32-33 (ESV) Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said
before Jonathan, "What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin
before your father, that he seeks my life?" 2 And he said to him,
"Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either
great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this
from me? It is not so." 3 But David vowed again, saying, "Your father
knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, 'Do not let
Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.' But truly, as the Lord lives and as
your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death."
. . .
32 Then
Jonathan answered Saul his father, "Why should he be put to death? What
has he done?" 33 But Saul hurled
his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined
to put David to death
NOTE: Saul's
jealousy of David has so clouded his thinking that he throws a spear at his own
son. Envy is a dangerous trap. When we allow it entry into our lives, it seeks
to consume us, even to the point of destroying other relationships around us.
Satan wants us to be discontent. He wants us to desire what others have. He
wants us to be unhappy about our circumstances. On the other hand, God wants us
to learn contentment, not to lust after the things of others, and to rejoice in
our circumstances. God wants us to be thankful and thankfulness is the best
defense against envy and discontentment. Rejoice in all things is a protection against the
attack of the enemy. Saul has fallen into the trap. And what follows are the
common results of envy and jealousy, and that is: anger, bitterness, rage,
self-focused, and narcissism. The cure is to bring our eyes back to God and off
of the things we feel we must have to be happy. The cure is to give thanks to
God for our circumstances. The cure is to live for God first and trust him to
provide what is needed for life.
No comments:
Post a Comment