"Thieves are jealous of each other's loot,
but the godly are well rooted and bear their own fruit."
Proverbs 12:12
Today's Devotion
"The only way thieves can get what they want is by stealing and conniving to grasp as much as possible. Theirs is a life of plotting, stealing, suspicion, and jealousy. The godly don't have to steal; they create wealth by bearing their own fruit. These are two vastly different ways of life—grabbing versus producing. They are also mutually exclusive, moving in opposite directions. It starts in the heart. Are you content with being well rooted in truth and with bearing your own fruit? Or do you jealously grasp for what others have?"—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions
Today's devotion struck me right at the heart. Not that I'm a thief or anything. It simply made me question my own motivations. Am I exhibiting any of the behaviors of a thief...plotting stealing, manipulating, conniving, causing suspicion, jealous, envious - in my heart am I 'grabbing' for myself what belongs to others instead of producing my own fruit?
Jealousy and envy can cause us to 'steal' from others what is rightfully theirs. The fruit of jealousy are actions that tear down the very people we are jealous of. We want what they have. I once had a coworker many years ago who was extremely jealous of others, me included. Her jealousy led her to gossip about others. To my face, she was a friend. Behind my back, she was not. Her gossip about others came in the form of little digs and comments she would make - never did she say anything in front of the coworker she envied. She tried to 'steal' the reputation of others by putting them down to make herself look good. I wish I could say that this caught up with her career wise, but it didn't. At least not while I worked with her. She climbed the corporate ladder - at the expense of others. It cost her friendships in the end, though. No one trusted her. Who could blame them?
So you see, when we allow jealousy and envy into our hearts, we risk becoming theives ourselves. That is why it is so important to guard our hearts.
Jesus said, "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." Luke 6:45
We can overcome jealousy and envy by pressing the reset buttons of our hearts. Refocus our thoughts on God alone. We can ask for His help to renew our hearts and our thoughts.
And lastly, we can overcome jealousy when our hearts and thoughts are properly motivated - motivated to love God with all of our being. Growing deep roots of faith and love will ground us when jealousy threatens to steal away our hearts. With God in our heart, there is no room for jealousy and envy. Our love for God will produce an abundance of good fruit in our lives.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’" Mark 12:30
In His Love, Cathy
