Envy

Proverbs 27:3-4 says,

A stone is heavy and sand, a burden, but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both. Fury is cruel, and anger a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?

The theme of these verses is unbearable behavior that other people cannot endure (Waltke, Proverbs, Chapters 15–31, 374). Do you get what the wise man is saying? Violence is bad, and a temper is bad. They are harmful to people, but jealousy is even more destructive! Jealousy cannot be endured. When you are a jealous person, no one wants to be around you and all the drama. It destroys friendships because “fury that stems from jealousy is not open to reason or moderation” (Garrett, Proverbs, 216).

We see an example of this in the Bible in the way Saul feels about David. His jealousy of David causes him several times to try to kill David (1 Sam 18:9-11; 19:9-11) (Waltke, Proverbs, Chapters 15–31, 375). Jealousy leads to other sins because at its root it is a belief of the heart that what God has given you is not enough. God is withholding his best from you. That dissatisfaction and feeling of inadequacy causes you to lash out in all kinds of ways: violence, gossip, theft, and more.

Another way that envy leads to other sins is when you copy the behavior of the prosperous, wicked person. The Bible says that envy of sinful people—who seem to prosper—leads to imitating their behavior. Proverbs 24:1-2 says, “Don’t envy the evil or desire to be with them, for their hearts plan violence, and their words stir up trouble.” Jealousy of sinful people who are successful will lead you to adopt their behavior to get what they have. Instead, you should see that their behavior is despicable and you should not want to lower yourself to their level. Being repulsed by their angry, badmouthing, and bitter attitudes should be a motivation to avoid jealousy (Waltke, Proverbs, Chapters 15–31, 268).

Several passages of Scripture warn us not to envy sinners who prosper, since God will judge them. Wisdom says not to join them. Proverbs 3:31-32 states, “Don’t envy a violent man or choose any of his ways; for the devious are detestable to the Lord, but he is a friend to the upright.” The application of the verse is clear: do not be envious of and thus copy the practices of a sinner. It is tempting to be jealous of those who succeed despite their sinful behavior. If it was not tempting, then so many people would not find it appealing. When ungodly people find themselves having all that they want while godly persons have very little, then godliness can seem like it does not benefit much. But we are told to avoid this, and one of the big reasons is that the Lord will condemn the wicked. The tables will turn. The “prospering sinner” will lose all that he has, and the righteous will be rewarded in the end. God’s approval abides on the content person, and that approval is worth so much more than those good-looking things the sinner has. God tells you to trust his Word rather than your experience because the prosperity of the ungodly is only apparent; it will be short lived.

Proverbs 24:19-20 adds the eternal perspective: “Don’t be agitated by evildoers, and don’t envy the wicked. For the evil have no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.” Do not be jealous of sinners, since the tables will be turned at judgment. The sinner has no future. So it is foolish to adopt his ways for a few decades of pleasure and seeming prosperity in light of eternity.

It is clear from Proverbs that the wages of jealousy is death: it rots your bones, it destroys your relationships, and it will send you to hell! So jealousy is a matter of life and death. Envy causes you to shrivel up, it eats away at you, and it casts you into darkness. The apostle Paul says about jealousy that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal 5:19-21).

Proverbs 24:19-20 gave the negative warning, but Proverbs 23:17-18 gives the positive promise, “Don’t let your heart envy sinners; instead, always fear the Lord. For then you will have a future, and your hope will not be dashed.” We see in these verses a positive strategy for dealing with our jealousy, and it just happens to be the theme of Proverbs: fear the Lord. That means to fight off envy and jealousy in your life is to trust in the Lord—to have whole-hearted confidence in him! Again, there is a temptation to be jealous of prosperous wicked people in such a way that you copy their actions. What is the antidote? The antidote to jealousy is contentment in the Lord. What is the motivation for this contentment? The future reward of eternal life is the motivation to be content in the Lord. Again, you must have an eternal perspective (Col 3:1-2). In light of eternity, if you fear the Lord, you will experience eternal blessings. In contrast, the wicked will lose everything that they have.

Proverbs 24:20, interpreted canonically, may refer to the preservation of the messianic line because the “lamp” often refers to progeny (Fox, Proverbs 10–31, 564). The lamp is connected to the Davidic dynasty because David’s life is referred to as the “lamp of Israel” and God is concerned that David always has a lamp in Israel (i.e., an heir; 2 Sam 21:17; 1 Kgs 15:4). Psalm 132 applies the same lamp imagery to the Messiah. The hope is to preserve the messianic line until Messiah comes by not envying the wicked. The promise of an eternal kingdom ultimately brings an overlap of posterity with eternal life. There either had to be an eternal succession of faithful posterity or eventually an eternal son who lives forever. The resurrection of Jesus is where the two ideas meet. We can enter this eternal kingdom if we trust in the King and thus turn away from jealousy toward him!

Believing the gospel brings eternal and abundant life—the life that God meant for you to live. That is what the book of Proverbs is all about. The gospel story itself is a story about jealousy. Jealousy killed Jesus. His influence over the people drove the Jewish leaders to insanity. After all, the Bible says the Jewish leaders handed Jesus over to the Romans “because of envy” (Matt 27:18). Not only was it the jealousy of the Jews that caused the death of Jesus, but our own jealousies killed him. He hung on the cross to pay the penalty for our jealousy. Every time you resented someone else’s promotion, got green-eyed at someone else’s popularity, or raged at another person’s good looks, you added your sin in killing Jesus.

But the good news is that God’s jealousy to have an exclusive relationship with us motivated him to send his Son to die for our sins. Even though his bride had satisfied herself with so many idolatrous lovers, God was zealous to purchase her and satisfy her with himself alone. He loves you and wants you to be his. So say this to yourself when you feel jealousy rising in your heart: Jesus drowned in his own blood so I can be satisfied in him. I don’t need those things that I so jealously want because I have Jesus, and he is all I need.

We have been jealous and envious; but Jesus, who never was, died for us to forgive us and save us. He is the one who can not only forgive you for your jealousy, but he can also empower you by his Spirit to live a life that is free from envy. As we have seen throughout Proverbs, foolishness is a faith issue. The problem is not one of effort but of belief. Foolishness in our lives shows us that we are not believing in Jesus, and that is so true when it comes to the foolishness of jealousy. You are jealous because you are not satisfied and happy in all that he is for you. Faith in Jesus will free you from that jealousy. Your future hope in Christ is much greater than whatever that alluring thing is that someone else has right now.