The destructiveness of envy

On Sunday morning there was a young, college student who was headed to Watermark when a tire blew out on her car. She wasn't hurt, but by the time help arrived and the tire was repaired, she was running too late to make it to the service. Disappointed, she remembered that she could listen on podcast, so she quickly tuned in. Like many of us, the sermon on envy hit her squarely between the eyes.

As a nursing student nearing graduation later this spring, she had been applying for positions with hospitals in the region. Some of her fellow nursing students were getting calls for interviews... sadly, she was not. She found herself trying to congratulate them for their successes, while inside she was "boiling over" with resentment and anger. Really, she really was not happy for them at all. The truth was, she was envious and it was actually making her feel "rotten". (30 A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30).

As she listened to the sermon, she realized the envy had to go! She confessed it for the sin it was and asked God to change her heart... to replace her envy with authentic, Christ-like love. (Love... does not envy. 1 Corinthians 13:4c). On Monday, she woke up with a refreshed spirit, determined to offer genuine congrats to any of her fellow students who were offered the interviews she had worked so hard to get too, but so far had not gotten... Amazingly, on Monday, she received a call from a hospital where she had applied for her very own interview! She was thrilled beyond belief, broke down in tears, genuinely thanked God for the job opportunity AND even more, for teaching her to live love!

How 'bout you? Are you living love? For much more, listen to our Live Love series online - Part 3 - Contentment. When I hear stories like that, it stirs my soul!