The Evil of Envy
Proverbs 14:30; 23:17;
Portions of Psalm 73
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A heart at peace gives life to the body,
but envy rots the bones. (14:30)
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but
always be zealous for the fear of the
LORD. (23:17)
Portions of Psalm 73
 A psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good … to
those who are pure in heart. But as for
me, my feet had almost slipped; I had
nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the
arrogant when I saw the prosperity of
the wicked. They have no struggles; their
bodies are healthy and strong. They are
free from the burdens common to man;
they are not plagued by human ills.
Portions of Psalm 73 (continued)
 This is what the wicked are like-- always
carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in
vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have
I washed my hands in innocence … When I
tried to understand all this, it was
oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary
of God; then I understood their final destiny.
Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly
are they destroyed, completely swept away
by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so
when you arise, O Lord, you will despise
them as fantasies.
Portions of Psalm 73 (continued)
 When my heart was grieved and my
spirit embittered, I was senseless and
ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.
Yet I am always with you; you hold me by
my right hand. You guide me with your
counsel, and afterward you will take me
into glory. Whom have I in heaven but
you? And earth has nothing I desire
besides you. My flesh and my heart may
fail, but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
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The early Christians (in about the fourth
century) classified envy as one of the
“seven deadly sins”.
In modern times, it has been my
observation that we don’t take the sin of
envy very seriously.
Jerry Bridges, lists envy as one of the sins
that Christians today seem to view as
“respectable sins” (Respectable Sins,
chapter 18).
Things We’ll Cover Today:
 What is Envy?
 Why We Should Deal With Envy?
 How We Should Deal With Envy?
 To Whom Shall We Go?
Envy is:
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Wanting somebody else’s life – instead of
rejoicing in the good they have, you weep
over the fact that you don’t have it.
Being unhappy with other people’s
happiness and happy with other people’s
unhappiness.
The opposite of love and concern for others
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Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy…
(1Cor 13:4)
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with
those who mourn. (Rom 12:15)
Some Biblical Examples of Envy:
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Although the word envy is not used, envy
seems to be a part of what motivated Adam
and Eve to sin in the garden: For God knows
that when you eat of [the forbidden fruit]
your eyes will be opened, and you will be
like God, knowing good and evil. (Gen 3:5)
Isaac planted crops in [Gerar, the land of
the Philistines] and the same year reaped a
hundredfold, because the LORD blessed
him. [Isaac] became rich, and his wealth
continued to grow until he became very
wealthy. He had so many flocks and herds
and servants that the Philistines envied
him. (Gen 26:12-14)
Some Biblical Examples of Envy:
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When the LORD saw that Leah was not
loved, He opened her womb, but Rachel
was barren. Leah became pregnant and
gave birth to a son. … When Rachel saw
that she was not bearing Jacob any
children, she became jealous of her
sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me
children, or I'll die!” Jacob became angry
with her and said, “Am I in the place of
God, who has kept you from having
children?” (Gen 29:31a; 30:1-2)
Some Biblical Examples of Envy:
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Joseph’s brothers became envious of
Joseph when he had a dream from God
prophesying that he would rule over
them. (Gen 37:5-11)
King Saul became envious of David
when he was successful in battle and the
women of Israel sang in celebration,
“Saul has slain his thousands, and David
his tens of thousands.” (1Sam 18:7)
Some Biblical Examples of Envy:
 In Jesus’ parable of the workers in the
vineyard, the workers who worked all day
grumbled against the landowner because
they thought they should have been paid
more than the men who only worked one
hour. The landowner asked, “Don't I have
the right to do what I want with my own
money? Or are you envious because I am
generous? ” (Mat 20:15)
 It was out of envy that the chief priests
handed Jesus over to Pilate to be put to
death. (Mark 15:9-10)
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Obviously the most important reason to
avoid any sin, is out of obedience to God.
Tim Keller suggests four additional
reasons why we need to avoid envy:
Envy hides itself.
 Envy sucks all the joy out of your life.
 Envy poisons your ability to enjoy and be
grateful for the things you have.
 If you understand what you envy, you’ll
understand your own heart .
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Envy hides itself.
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We don’t want to admit we are envious
because of the stigma of its enormous
pettiness.
Because envy is so apt to hide you need to
look for it.
Possible clues – you might be envious if:
 You are constantly irritated with someone
to a point where you have become
hypercritical of them
 You’re unhappy and full of self-pity much
of the time.
 When you see someone rich or powerful
fall and you secretly rejoice
Envy sucks all the joy out of your life.
 Envy is a vacuum pump on joy. You see
people around you that are enjoying life
and you hate it.
 Keller cites secular writer Joseph Epstein
in his book on envy who observes:
Giving into sloth is rather pleasant;
Giving into loss of temper entails a release
that is not without its small delights;
 Lust, greed, pride bring quite a bit of
pleasure for quite a long time.
 Only envy is absolutely no fun at all,
draining all joy from you from its very first
moment!
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Envy poisons your ability to enjoy and be
grateful for the things you have.
 Nothing in your life is good enough:
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Your job isn’t good enough
Your body isn’t good enough
Your friendships aren’t good enough
Your marriage isn’t good enough.
You’re always finding fault, because you’re
comparing yourself to everyone else.
Envy poisons you psychologically and
socially.
That’s why the Proverb says: A heart at
peace gives life to the body, but envy rots
the bones. (14:30)
If you understand what you envy, you’ll
understand your own heart .
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“Learn what you envy and you’ll know who you
are.” (Joseph Epstein as cited by Keller)
Keller cites Kierkegaard in his book, “Sickness
unto Death” which says that God calls all human
beings to live before God (center your life on
God). But human beings are offended by this
invitation because they don’t want anything
better than them. So they look to other things to
justify their existence.
If knowing God delights in you is not the
greatest desire of your heart, you will be drained
by envy all your life.
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Proverbs tells us not to be envious of
sinners, but to fear God instead:
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Do not let your heart envy sinners, but
always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.
(23:17)
This seems to suggest that turning away
from envy involves turning toward God.
Psalm 73 gives us an example of how to
do this.
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In Psalm 73 we see the meditations of an
Old Testament believer (named Asaph) who
believed that God was good to those who
serve Him, but struggled with the fact that
many of those around him who were
arrogant and wicked seemed to get away
with it and were even prospering in spite of
their behavior!
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A psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good … to those
who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet
had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my
foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw
the prosperity of the wicked. (Psalm 73:1-3)
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In fact, these wicked people seemed to live
an almost charmed life:
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They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy
and strong. They are free from the burdens
common to man; they are not plagued by human
ills … This is what the wicked are like-- always
carefree, they increase in wealth. (Psalm 73:45,12)
And yet they are living in open defiance of
God! Doesn’t God care?!
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They scoff, and speak with malice; in their
arrogance they threaten oppression. Their
mouths lay claim to heaven … They say, "How
can God know? Does the Most High have
knowledge?” (Psalm 73:8-11)
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As he thought about these things, it
made him wonder if he might not be
better off becoming like them!
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Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in
vain have I washed my hands in innocence.
(Psalm 73:13)
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But then he went to the sanctuary (the
place of Jewish worship in that day) and
got caught up in the worship of God, and
he began to change his perspective as he
contemplated the bigger picture:
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When I tried to understand all this, it was
oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary
of God; then I understood their final destiny.
Surely You place them on slippery ground;
You cast them down to ruin. How suddenly
are they destroyed, completely swept away
by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so
when You arise, O Lord, You will despise
them as fantasies. (Psalm 73:16-20)
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And as he thinks about the final
destination of the wicked, he realizes
how shortsighted he had been in his
assessment of the situation and begins to
repent:
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When my heart was grieved and my spirit
embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I
was a brute beast before You. Yet I am
always with You; You hold me by my right
hand. (Psalm 73:21-23)
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As a result of his reassessment of the
situation, he begins to realize how
blessed he is to be in right relationship
with God:
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You guide me with Your counsel, and
afterward You will take me into glory. Whom
have I in heaven but You? And earth has
nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my
heart may fail, but God is the strength of my
heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:2426)
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In Psalm 73, Asaph rhetorically asks God: Whom
have I in heaven but You? – then answers his
own question: earth has nothing I desire besides
You … God is the strength of my heart and my
portion forever.
In the gospel of John we are told of an occasion
where Jesus confronted a crowd of followers
with their unbelief and they walked away from
Him. Jesus then turned to His disciples and
asked , “You do not want to leave too, do
you?”(John 6:67) and Peter, speaking for the
twelve gives a response reminiscent of the words
of Asaph: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have
the words of eternal life. We believe and know
that You are the Holy One of God”(John 6:68-69)