His brothers were jealous of him. Genesis 37:11
Suppose you’ve been friends with another person or couple for years. Then one day they come into money. They marry into money, or their business thrives, or they are given some unusual success, and overnight their life begins to look very different from yours.
The godly response is to “rejoice with those who rejoice” (Rom. 12:15), to find as much pleasure in what has come to them as you would if it had come to you! But that’s not easy. Two temptations will come to you. One is to covet and the other is to envy (or be jealous).
Coveting is when you want what someone else has. Envying is when you don’t want someone else to have what they’ve been given. Coveting wants to gain something for yourself. Envying wants to deny something to someone else. Coveting is saying, “I want the same as you.” Envy says, “I don’t want you to have more than me.” There is a meanness of spirit about it. “Envy makes the bones rot” (Prov. 14:30).
Joseph’s brothers would have been happy as long as Joseph was their equal. But God said that Joseph would be lifted up and they didn’t want him to have that. If God blesses you, don’t be surprised when others envy you. Rejoicing with those who rejoice is a rare grace in a selfish world. Very few people have the grace to do this well.
God said that His loved and favored Son, Jesus Christ, will be exalted. Before Him every knee will bow. But there is a compulsion in the human heart that does not want Him to have that. We will not have this man to reign over us.
Is there someone in your life right now you are tempted to covet or envy?
