4love does not envy… [simple_tooltip content=’1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.’](1 Corinthians 13:1-13)[/simple_tooltip]
The dictionary defines envy as „discontented desire or resentment aroused by another’s possessions, achievements, or advantages.” A person who is discontent or resents others who have more things, talent, or a better job, is a person who doesn’t appreciate God’s love for him or her. If they would receive God’s love for them, a supernatural contentment would settle into their lives.
Discontentment is envy and is at the root of all temptation. Take Adam and Eve as an example. Before the devil could get them to sin, he had to make them discontented. That was no small chore. How do you make people who are living in perfection dissatisfied? They had no needs. They had never been hurt or abused. They couldn’t blame their actions on their dysfunctional family. However, the devil made them believe they were missing out on something. He made two people, living in paradise, dissatisfied with perfection. That’s amazing!
This shows us that contentment isn’t a state of being but a state of mind. If perfect people living in a perfect world could become discontented, then certainly imperfect people living in an imperfect world can be discontented. That’s why the Bible admonishes us to learn to be content in all states [simple_tooltip content=’Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:’](Phil. 4:11)[/simple_tooltip]. Only God’s love will give us the contentment we desire.
Ask the Lord for a deeper revelation of His love for you today. Realize that any discontentment is envy, and God’s love is the antidote for this crippling attitude. Being content in His love is what will keep you from temptation.
