Regarding Jealousy

Focus Keywords: Overcoming Jealousy, Spiritual Cure for Envy, Christian Conduct, Alistair Begg, Respectable Sins, Brotherly Love, Selfish Ambition

This comprehensive summary and rewrite draws on Alistair Begg’s message, “Regarding Jealousy” (Proverbs 27:1–6), defining jealousy as a pernicious, destructive sin that easily dissolves relationships and wreaks havoc within the church. The message provides a “charcoal sketch” outlining the characteristics, consequences, and crucial cure for this sin, emphasizing that spiritual growth requires immediate, ruthless, and consistent rejection of envy.

I. Defining the Pernicious Snare of Jealousy

Jealousy is described not in the context of godly or proper protectiveness (such as a husband’s natural jealousy for his wife), but as a “pernitious thing” and one of the “evangelical respectable sins”. Many individuals find it easy to “rail against all kinds of things” while falling foul of this particular snare.

The biblical warning is severe: “Wroth is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?”. Jealousy is rooted in insecurity and surfaces when the success of others is perceived as a threat to one’s own achievements.

Proximity is the Catalyst

Jealousy rarely emerges concerning individuals who are “vastly removed”. Instead, it flourishes in proximity.

• A preacher is unlikely to be jealous of Billy Graham’s immense congregation in Seoul, Korea, but might be jealous of a colleague “further up the road”.
• A golfer is not jealous of Rory McIlroy’s genius, but might be jealous of a friend who, playing close to their handicap, continually wins against them.
• A student isn’t jealous of a physics genius but might be jealous of a friend who earns an A+ when they only achieved a B.

II. The Cruel Characteristics of Jealousy

Jealousy manifests in several destructive characteristics:

1. Inability to Celebrate Others’ Success: Jealousy “can’t stand it when others are doing better”. The Philistines envied Isaac simply because he was in possession of flocks, herds, and many servants.
2. Sadness at Happiness: Jealousy is “sad at the happiness of others”. It prevents individuals from wholeheartedly entering into the joys, encouragements, and benefits of others. The spirit of the elder brother in Luke 15 exemplifies this, as he refused to celebrate his sibling’s return, unable to distinguish between his brother’s waste and the father’s grace.
3. Hostility Toward the Innocent: Jealousy “makes us hostile towards those who have never harmed us”. Joseph’s brothers hated him and “could not speak peacefully to him” simply because their father loved him more. Similarly, Eliab, David’s oldest brother, immediately sought to malign David’s motives and call into question the “evil of your heart” when David arrived on the battlefield, even though there was no battle occurring.
4. Cruelty Leading to Ruin: Jealousy is “cruel as the grave” and may actively seek the ruin of the envied person. This is demonstrated by Cain rising up against and killing his brother Abel out of jealousy (Genesis 4:8). This can manifest today as “killing someone with a word” or thrusting the “spear of your jealous heart and your vicious tongue” into a friend or loved one.
5. Failure to Acknowledge God’s Sovereignty: Jealousy “fails to recognize that God knows what he’s doing in apportioning gifts”. This challenges God’s sovereignty, as one questions why they did not receive the specific gifts or attention given to another (1 Corinthians 4:7).

III. The Devastating Consequences of Unchecked Envy

Unaddressed jealousy metastasizes, resulting in severe spiritual, psychological, and relational damage:

1. Spiritual Decay (“Rotten Bones”): Jealousy “rots your bones”. Proverbs 14:30 states that “envy makes the bones rot,” painting a graphic picture of internal decay that is not immediately apparent on the outside. Like bone cancer, the ravaging impact eventually becomes clear.
2. Unwarranted Suspicion and Anger: Jealousy gives birth to “unwarranted anger and suspicion”. When David returned victorious from battle, Saul became jealous because the crowds credited David with slaying “tens of thousands,” while Saul had only slain “his thousands”. Saul “eyed David from that day on,” viewing him as an object of suspicion and incrimination because he could not tolerate the fact that David had “Y” when he only had “X”.
3. Destructively Critical Spirit: Jealousy breeds a “destructively critical spirit”. When Daniel was distinguished above his political colleagues, they immediately sought grounds for complaint against him, driven by jealousy that he should have the top position.
4. Ruins Spiritual Appetite: Jealousy “ruins your spiritual appetite”. A jealous heart, like a “dirty mind” filled with garbage, destroys the beneficial impact of the Bible, preventing the believer from living by the instruction of God’s Word.
5. Forerunner to Chaos: Jealousy and selfish ambition are the “forerunner to all kinds of chaos”. James 3 notes that wherever they exist, “there will be disorder and every evil practice”.

IV. The Cure for Jealousy: Root It Out Immediately

The cure for jealousy is not psychological maneuvering or excusing the sin, but immediate, ruthless, and consistent rejection.

1. Recognize It as Sin

The first step is to “recognize jealousy for what it is: it is sin”. Paul reminds believers that they have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness, where they passed their days in “malice and envy,” to the kingdom of light. The grace of God that brings salvation also “teach[es] us to say no to all ungodliness”. The biggest problem a person has is the “problem of my own sinful heart,” not the external influences of others.

2. Bring It into the Light of God’s Presence

Jealousy must be dealt with by being brought “into the light of God’s presence”.

• Private vs. Public Confession: Secret and private sins should be dealt with privately and secretly before God. Only public sins should be dealt with publicly before the assembly.
• Authentic Confession: One must avoid the “perversity” where the attempt at confession is actually just an advance of the same problem.

3. Put Rejection into Practice Moment by Moment

The rejection of jealousy must be put into “practice moment by moment”. This is achieved by focusing on the reality of union with Christ.

• Putting Off the Old Wardrobe: Because believers have been “raised with Christ into the heavenly places,” they must “put to death” the sins of the “old wardrobe,” such as covetousness (a cousin of jealousy).
• Contentment as Great Gain: The ultimate antidote is “godliness with contentment”, which is great gain. Contentment means being “happy in my own funny redeemed little body” and accepting how God designed you.
• The Shepherd’s Directive: The cure for the “sideways glance” of jealousy (e.g., Peter asking Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”) is the constant, straightforward directive of Christ: “Follow me”.

Conclusion: The same insecurities and jealousies that plague the secular world are tragically present in the Christian context. The only way to move forward is to keep short accounts with sin, live dyingly, and resolve to follow Christ immediately, ruthlessly, and consistently.