David and the Green-Eyed Monster

I love colors. I love them in sunrises and sunsets. I love them in foods. I love them in clothes as well as cars. I also love the way they’re used in everyday conversation. Colors are often used to describe a person’s personality or present state of mind or mood. That being said, I’m going to start a series of devotions I’ve titled: “A Rainbow of Emotions”. Each one will feature a different color. For instance, if a person is described as “yellow”, then that would mean that they are a coward. If they are described as being “blue”, they are depressed. If they are described as being “green with envy”, then they are envious or jealous of someone else’s possessions or good fortune. And it is that color that I want to start with this week.

Envy or jealousy has often been described as “the green-eyed monster” and for good reason. That is exactly what envy or jealousy is…a monster. Jealousy can destroy your life. It has been known to break up friendships, break up marriages. It has motivated people to steal, to hurt other people or destroy their property. It has even been known to cause people to want to commit murder. Prisons across America are full of people who didn’t keep their emotions in check and are now paying the price because of it. That’s why Proverbs 14:30 says: “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” (NIV)

One man who let his jealousy get the best of him and paid a huge price was King David. David was a man who had a lot of wives and yet, when faced with a temptation in the form of the one woman he could not have, gave in to it. He eventually did come back to God, but not before experiencing indescribable pain and shame; pain from the loss of his young son and the shame of having sinned before God by committing adultery with Bathsheba. (2nd Samuel 12:13-19)

What we can’t have, we always want. That is human nature. That is why we need to constantly be on our knees and asking God to help us. We need to be asking Him to give us a supernatural spirit; one that can be happy with what it has, rather than be longing for what it wants.