The evil of ENVY James Shepherd

Two weekends ago was the most exciting weekend of my life thus far.

Kay and I woke up one morning on Saturday morning

and we went to a rock at Freshwater Beach

and I proposed to her and she said yes.

It was a wonderful Saturday morning.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Now, I didn't necessarily put a lot of effort into the proposal itself.

It was pretty easy.

I had it all planned out pretty much the night before.

But something I did put a lot of effort into

and did a lot of work for

was trying to find the right engagement ring for Katie.

You know, I wanted her to have the best ring I could afford.

And so I did so much research into the different rings,

into the different diamonds you could have,

into the colour, the clarity, the cut of the diamond

and how each worked in its favour

to produce a very wonderful sparkle and such.

And so I worked out how I could get the best diamond

for the best value for my wonderful-to-be fiance.

But something I noticed myself doing on the day itself

after I proposed, after I gave Katie the ring,

was when we went back to celebrate with friends and family,

I began to compare the ring I had given her

to the rings that my other friends had given

to their fiancés and their wives.

And I began to get a little bit envious

as I looked at some of their rings

and saw that perhaps their ring, their diamond,

was perhaps a little bit bigger than what I gave Katie.

Katie, it was a bit shinier, a bit brighter,

seemed to be a better cut than what I had given Katie.

And it made me really envious in the moment.

I got really bitter and resentful to my own friends

in that moment because they had given something

far better than what I had given Katie.

It made me think,

I should have gone out and gone all out,

got the biggest rock I could have afforded,

got the best diamond I could have gotten.

In that moment, envy had consumed me.

Now, Katie and I are very happy with the ring

and we're very excited to get married,

so just to clarify that.

But the temptation of envy can be all too easy

to fall into straight away.

It was only for a moment that I felt that temptation.

But in that moment, envy pretty much had consumed me.

It's so easy and it's so dangerous.

It's something that we are all at risk of every single day

at every single moment of our life,

which is why this evening we are continuing our series

looking at wisdom in the book of Proverbs

and particularly looking at the evil of envy.

And so to begin, I want to unpack why evil is,

so why envy is so evil.

And there are two conditions that envy thrives on

in our life in this world.

Firstly, we envy those we identify with.

And secondly, we envy these people

in the area we value the most.

Now, these effects can have minor or major consequences

for us in our life.

So, for example, I struggled with envy

when I saw the engagement rings my mates had bought

for their girlfriends and fiancés,

so people I identified with.

And it made me bitter in the moment

because it made me feel less or less of a person

because they had outdone me and such.

Now, that's a minor consequence, right?

It was a moment and then it passed and I got over it.

However, in the Bible, there are instances

where someone's envy has had major consequences

for themselves and for other people in their life.

We already know the story of Joseph

and his brothers that Steve mentioned last week.

Joseph's brothers envied the attention

that he received from their father

and the gifts he would get, such as his wonderful coat.

For them, the coat symbolized and expressed

Jacob's favoritism towards his son, Joseph,

that he was held in elevated status before them,

a status that the rest of the brothers really wanted

and valued themselves.

So their envy turned into bitterness, resentment and hate,

which expressed itself through a plot

trying to kill Joseph, their own brother.

Or take Cain and Abel, for example,

brothers who, as far as we knew,

had no tension between each other

until God chose to accept Abel's gift over Cain's gift.

And again, Cain's envy sprouted out of nowhere,

but it sprouted because from God's action to him

symbolized that God had favored him over Abel.

And whereas Cain, he wanted and valued God's favor.

And so he envied his own brother for being favored over him.

And whilst he had the opportunity to not give in to his envy,

that God had warned him,

don't give in to your sin,

eventually in the end,

envy had consumed him so much that he did give in.

He turned bitter, hateful,

he resented the fact that his younger brother

was favored over him.

And so he ended up killing him.

And he tried to cover it up.

Funny enough, just the same way

Joseph's brothers tried to cover it up as well.

Whether minor or major,

envy targets the internal qualities of another person,

and it makes you play the comparison game.

And these internal qualities are generally symbolized externally.

So for example,

Joseph's coat symbolized the favoritism he received from his father.

His brothers didn't want Joseph's coat per se.

They wanted the favoritism from his father that the coat had symbolized.

They compared themselves to Joseph and saw they didn't match up to him,

which led them to envy him.

This is the comparison game envy makes us play.

Envy takes everything that we have in our life

and it uses it to make us play this game of comparison,

where we look down on people who are not as good as us,

who don't have enough as us,

or we look up at people in bitterness and resentment for what they have

and therefore what that says about us.

When we see someone wearing a nicer suit,

who has a better job than us,

who has a better body or nicer clothes than us,

who drives a nicer car,

owns a bigger house than us,

it's easy to let these things,

to let envy use these things

to make us feel bitter and resentful towards them.

For they have something that says something about them

and when you compare yourself to them,

it says something about yourself

and when we seem not to measure up to them.

The envious person is consumed

by how they stack up against other people

and the consequences,

whether seemingly minor or obviously major,

are damaging either way.

See, from these examples,

I think we can see two main things

in the way that envy distorts and corrupts our humanity.

Firstly, it distorts and compromises our character,

leading us to do things we may have never have done,

to bring other people down to our level

or worse, below our level,

like in the example of Cain and Abel.

And secondly, it distorts

and attempts to destroy our relationships

as it pits us against those we identify with

and share similar values,

like the way I struggled with the engagement rings.

In the moment,

my bitterness and my resentment

was towards my own friends.

And this, for me,

is why envy is most evil

and particularly dangerous in a church context.

Indeed,

if any of us here harbour any envy towards each other

here in this place,

we are indeed under serious threat.

Our unity,

our fellowship,

is seriously at threat.

Envy is truly evil.

And what makes it so dangerous

and even more evil

is that it works insidiously.

That is,

it works without us even knowing it.

And it always works

with evil intent behind it

to make us fall into sin

and to destroy our relationships.

And this is why Proverbs is very,

very strong.

If you look at 23 again,

verse 1 and 2,

when you sit to die of a ruler,

note well what is before you

and put a knife to your throat

if you are given to gluttony.

The sage urges his son or his pupil here

to restrain himself from envy

as if there were a sword hanging over his head

or a knife being put to his throat,

threatening him that if he gives in to envy,

he will cut his neck

or cut off his head.

That's how strong the Proverbs are

about giving in to envy.

It's serious,

not only because it distorts

our relationships with each other

and the things we value,

but it also distorts

and corrupts our relationship with God.

As the psalmist notes in Psalm 73,

Psalms 73:1

verse 1,

Surely God is good to Israel,

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.

The psalmist knew that God was good,

but because he envied the wicked

who were prospering when he wasn't,

see there he's playing the comparison game already,

he nearly forsook what was right and true.

He was tempted to think that God was unjust,

unjust to allow him to suffer.

His envy began to distort his relationship with God,

how he saw who God was

and what his true qualities were.

When he compared himself to the wicked

and saw that he wasn't as blessed as they were,

he nearly lost God altogether.

Envy is so evil and so dangerous

because it calls us to question God's goodness

on the basis of our own experience,

to compare that of the wicked

and decide upon that experience

whether he is good enough or not.

It's a dangerous, dangerous thing to do,

to question the Lord of all creation,

to question his own goodness

as his creatures.

So how does one not fall into temptation of envy?

How does one heed the sage

in Proverbs 23, 17 that says,

let not your heart envy sinners,

but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.

The biggest problem with envy

is that it can distort anything we value

into a standard by which we play the comparison game.

Whether it's your job, your wealth,

your car, your wife, your husband,

your boyfriend or your girlfriend,

your phone, your skills,

or your gadgets and possessions,

your passions and your values,

envy can take all these things,

anything in your life,

and distort it into a standard

by which you play the comparison game,

by which you play the game,

which you compare yourself with other people

and determine where do you sit.

Are you up here or are you down here?

How high on the ladder are you?

Up there or down there?

Therefore, thinking through this logically,

the only way to deal with envy

is to value something

that can't be distorted.

To value something that envy can't distort

and use to cause us to look down on people

and to judge them and to think we're better,

or to look up to people in bitterness and resentment

for what that says about us.

But does such a thing in this world exist?

And what on earth could it be?

When David realized his sin

of committing adultery against Bathsheba

and his sin of murdering Uriah,

he came before God in repentance,

in deep, sorrowful repentance.

And he penned the psalm, Psalm 51.

And in this psalm,

he acknowledges the root cause of his sin,

why he gave in to this sin

and envy.

In verse 12, he says this,

Restore to me the joy of salvation

and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.

The reason why David fell into this sin quickly

was because his greed had blinded him

to the joy he already had in God,

the one who saves,

the one who gives life.

David's joy had turned from being in God's salvation

to being whatever his eye had seen

that pleased him.

Even if what he had seen was not his.

But now David realizes that his covetous pursuits

led him into shame and sin.

And he asked God,

Please, God,

restore to me the joy of salvation.

Restore to me what it is to be known by you

and to know you.

Having his eyes fixed on the wonderful salvation

that comes from God

is how David reorients his heart

to not give sin a foothold.

And closely related to coveting,

envy as well has the same ability

to blind us to the wonderful joy

in salvation.

And it's only when we fix our eyes

and remember the wonderful salvation

that comes from God in Christ

that envy is left powerless

to corrupt and to distort.

Why is that?

Because the salvation

that comes from God

through the gospel

is the great equalizer

of all men.

The salvation

that comes through the gospel

is the great equalizer

among all men.

Whilst envy

perpetuates on playing the comparison game,

playing the game that says

you've got to work out

where you are

on the status level.

The gospel says no.

Salvation

through the gospel

is the great equalizer

of all men.

There is no place

in the gospel

to look down at anyone

for we are all sinful.

We are all

in the same predicament.

There is no place

in the gospel

for envy of any kind

for no matter

how prosperous

you might be,

no matter how well off

you might be,

no matter how high up

the ladder

you might think you are,

we are all called.

to repent of our sin

and to turn back

to Christ in faith.

And such opportunity,

no matter how high you are,

no matter how low you are,

is given to all people

freely,

without distinction,

the grace of God

in Christ.

Galatians 3.26

makes this really clear for us.

So in Christ Jesus

you are all children

of God through faith.

For all of you

were baptized into Christ

and have clothed yourselves

with Christ,

there is neither Jew

nor Gentile,

neither slave nor free,

nor is there male

and female,

for you are all one

in Christ Jesus.

If you belong to Christ

then you are Abraham's

seed

and heirs

according to the promise.

The playing field

has been leveled

completely.

There is no room

for the comparison game

at all

to be played.

You can't compare

each other's salvation

at all.

And Romans 3.23

further clarifies this.

For all have sinned

and fall short

of the glory of God

and all are justified

freely by his grace

to the redemption

that came

by Christ Jesus.

Salvation

in God

is the great

equalizer

to which envy

is rendered

powerless against.

Envy can't use

this salvation

as a means

of distorting

your relationship

because everyone

who knows

this salvation,

who trusts

in Jesus

that comes

to know Christ

knows they are sinful

and deserving

of death

and along with

everyone else

and they know

they are only made

right with God

through faith

alone

along with

everyone else.

Envy

thrives in this world

because it's built

on a social hierarchy.

we are constantly

told to climb

some sort of ladder

whether it's to build

our wealth

our skills

our possessions

our friends

our fame

we are told to climb

this endless ladder

and the only way

to measure

our success

to see where

we are going

in this ladder

is to play

the comparison game

and therefore

to let envy

take its hold

on us

to influence

us

but the gospel

comes in

and decimates

that entirely

and declares

that all people

no matter who

you are

have access

through faith

and repentance

to the wonderful

salvation

that is on offer.

Indeed

we don't climb

any ladder

anymore

the world

wants you to

try and keep

climbing this ladder

to get higher

and higher

and higher

but it's endless

but on the contrary

in Ephesians 1

we're reminded

that for those

who trust in Jesus

you are already

ascended to the very top

you are seated

with Christ

in the heavenly realms

and in him

being at the very top

in him

we enjoy peace

with God

satisfaction

and contentment

we enjoy unity

and fellowship

together

we enjoy

our significance

and worth

being found

in him

he is supremely

valuable

whose blood

whose blood

is more precious

than gold

nothing can compare

to him

having him

and therefore

envy cannot

take its stand

against him

it is rendered

powerless

so when the thing

that captures

your attention

the most

the thing that

stirs the affection

of your heart

the most

is the salvation

that comes

through Jesus

envy will lose

its grip

on your life

because not only

do you have

the best thing

but you have

the very thing

that levels

the playing field

the great equaliser

of all men

but this is easier

said than done

although we have

this knowledge

of salvation

we often fail

to keep

our eyes

fixated

on Jesus

we are so easily

distracted by

what surrounds us

by the world's message

to sell the good

life to us

telling us

what we ought

to value

the most

in our life

and because

we are sinful

and foolish

we buy into it

and take our

eyes off of

Jesus

every now and then

even David

prays in the same

verse

grant me

a willing spirit

to sustain me

and the proverb

says as well

let not your heart

envy sinners

but continue

in the fear

of the Lord

all the day

there is still

a need

to persevere

in our struggle

against envy

it's a daily

fight

a daily

battle

one which we

need to let

Christ

through the power

of the Holy Spirit

help us

in the fight

but instead of

just leaving it

there

we are in a series

on wisdom

and I want to

provide I think

what's best practice

from my research

in the last week

or so

so on the screen

it's going to come up

a summary of where

we've just gone

and then where

we're going to next

which I'll read

for us as well

to fight envy

we need to realise

that envy affects

the way we interact

with everything

that is of this world

drawing us to see

everything we value

as a means

for comparison

and therefore

we need to

counter envy

by choosing

to value that

which is not

of this world

the gospel

of salvation

the way we do this

is by training

and cultivating

the heart

to value

and love

the gospel

above all else

through daily

and weekly

practice

reorienting

our hearts

from loving

and valuing

the things

of this world

to loving

and valuing

the gospel

we so often

struggle to fight

against envy

and all sin

for that matter

because we think

transformation

has to do

with this thing

up here

thinking

deciding

that as long

as we can

mentally assent

to the truth

we'll be able

to change

our habits

but that's not

how we work

as human beings

don't hear me

say that thinking

is not important

it is

that's not entirely

the way we work

we're not just

thinkers

we don't change

our habits

by simply

knowing the truth

about something

and interesting enough

the world doesn't

work at that either

the world doesn't

convince us

through mental

assent

to live the way

it wants

the world

convinces us

through shaping

our hearts

to love

what it has to say

is the good life

through repetitive

exposure

pulling our

heart strings

the world

is able to

shape

what it is

we ought to

value

the most

it's a

it's a thing

that happens

without us

even knowing

at times

for example

the tech giant

Apple is a great

example of this

they don't

they're a company

that advertises

their products

not through

trying to get you

to mentally

just agree with them

about how good

their products are

but they're a company

that advertises

their products

by repetitively

drawing upon

your desires

and wants

constantly exposing

their product

to you

all the time

and this

repetitive

exposure

eventually

takes

its effects

in eventually

forming

our hearts

to love

their products

to want

them

and desire

them

to which I

have fallen

completely

for

to put it

simply

we are not

simply thinkers

first

we are lovers

first

we are lovers

first

and the reason

why we struggle

with changing

our habits

and therefore

removing envy

is because we

approach the fight

as thinkers

and not as lovers

therefore we must

approach this fight

not through mental

assent

but as lovers

but how we do

that

I have already

kind of given

you a clue

the only way

in which we can

grow in our love

for something

is by repetitively

being exposed

to it

and allowing it

to train

and cultivate

our heart

to be something

we love

you see

you grow

in love

for your wife

for your husband

your girlfriend

or boyfriend

for your family

and for your friends

or for anything

for that matter

when you choose

to actively

expose yourself

daily to it

when you choose

to engage

with it

when you continue

to practice

relationship

with that person

you are

in regard

you might not

put it this way

but you are

training yourself

to love this person

you're training

your heart

to love them

by daily

choosing to do so

and then growing

in that love

in the same way

of the gospel

the way in which

we train our hearts

to love the salvation

that comes from Jesus

is to repetitively

expose ourselves

to the message

of the gospel

to practice it daily

and allow for our hearts

to be trained

and to grow

in the love

of the gospel

and to do this

in a counter

formative way

that is

as we grow

in our love

for the gospel

to then allow

the gospel itself

to root out

any place

in our heart

which might

give in to envy

so that when we

are tempted

to envy

our hearts

natural reaction

ought to be

to turn to the gospel

and let the gospel

shape the way

we proceed

from there

to not give in

to envy

and the question

is now

where do we begin

with this

the practice

I've suggested

is something

that should be used

in fighting

all sin

in general

but what about envy

in particular

when we

where in our daily

repetitive practice

of the gospel

do we begin

in regards

to envy

well I believe

in general use

but I think

particularly for envy

Psalm 73

is one that provides

a helpful pattern

that helps us

to acknowledge

our own struggle

with envy

and gives us

a voice

to tell God

our struggle

but then helpfully

provides a corrective

for us

that will lead us

away from envy

and finding joy

in God's salvation

the first three verses

the psalmist acknowledges

he struggled with envy

and says he almost

fell away from God

because of it

and then he provides

why in verses 4 to 15

explain that the wicked

were prospering

but they were mocking God

at the same time

the psalmist though

who was obedient

and righteous

he was suffering

so whilst they were

prospering

he was suffering

he was struggling

to put the two

or two together

eventually

till we get to

verse 16

he admits

it's too much

for him to handle

he can't understand

why he is suffering

in this way

and why they are prospering

so what does he do

what's his response

he goes to God

in verse 17

to the temple

he brings this

confusing state

before God

and gives it to him

and being in the

presence of God

he realizes

the true fate

of the wicked

in verses 18

to 22

he realizes

what's going to

happen to those

even if they're

prospering

what does

eventually happen

to the wicked

and he talks

about that

in those next

few verses

and then in verse 23

again

after being with God

he realizes

his own state

and what's going

to happen to him

he says in verse 23

nevertheless

I am continually

with you

you hold

my right hand

you guide me

with your counsel

and afterward

you receive me

to glory

whom have I

in heaven

but you

and there is

nothing on earth

I desire

besides you

my flesh

and my heart

may fail

but God

is the strength

in my heart

and my portion

forever

for behold

those who are

far from you

shall perish

you put an end

to everyone

who is unfaithful

to you

but for me

it is good

to be near God

I have made

the Lord God

my refuge

that I may tell

of your works

do you see

how the psalmist

recounts

his emotions

and thoughts

as he goes along

he doesn't just

simply tell us

don't envy

trust God

he recounts

his own journey

and progression

towards understanding

and seeing the truth

and it's through

that journey

he was able

to write

the reality

that God

is his joy

and strength

that he need

not to envy

because he enjoyed

God's presence

and God's salvation

and so since

we have this psalm

written down

for us

when we are tempted

to feel envious

when we are tempted

to play

the comparison game

we can turn

to this psalm

to help us

fight envy

to use

as a guide

for the way

we should struggle

with it

you notice that

the psalmist

doesn't just conclude

okay I'm going to

trust God now

he actually voices

his opinion to God

he tells God

I'm struggling

the wicked are

prospering

and me the righteous

I'm suffering

what's going on

but then he provides

that helpful

corrective

in verse 17

he turns to God

that's the difference

between him

and us sometimes

do you turn

to God

after voicing

your opinion

to him

after telling him

you're struggling

do you turn

to God

to try and

understand

what's going on

when we

repeatedly

practice

this helpful

pattern

in psalm 73

but also

help we practice

on a broader

level

the gospel

through the reading

the speaking

aloud

as well

as in our mind

and the singing

of scripture

and the psalms

when we allow it

to sink

into our hearts

that's

when our joy

will begin

to turn

to be fixated

on the salvation

of God

and then

only then

we'll be able

to counter

the message

of this world

that is to

climb the social

ladder

to play the

comparison game

that envy

wants us to play

envy

is truly

evil

and like

all sin

it requires

us to fight

daily

but brothers

and sisters

when we

respond to

envy by

encountering

the gospel

each and

every day

envy

we rendered

powerless

when we work

through the

scriptures

and the psalms

in our response

practicing

and training

our hearts

to love

the gospel

to see it

as the thing

we value

the most

envy

will be

stopped

in its

tracks

and the

gospel

the great

equalizer

will take

its seed

and flourish

and grow

in our hearts

giving us

the freedom

to enjoy

to worship

God

without fear

of measuring

up to each

other

but then also

giving us

the power

to love

each other

to serve

each other

to be with

each other

and not fear

that we don't

measure up

to each other

because we

all here

enjoy the

wonderful

salvation

of God

as in

Christ Jesus

let me pray

for us

heavenly father

we thank you

so much

that we

enjoy peace

with you

through your

son

we thank you

that through

your word

you've given

us life

and we pray

father

that you

would help

us to

always have

our eyes

fixated

on your

son

for him

to be

the thing

we value

the most

in our

life

for the

salvation

that comes

through him

to be the

thing

that gives

us confidence

in this

world

would we

not envy

each other

or envy

sinners

but father

would we

know that

we enjoy

the great

salvation

that comes

from you

that puts

all of us

on the

leveling

playing field

that stirs

all of us

to love

each other

and to serve

each other

help us

father

to go out

now

into the

world

to show

forth your

love

and your

light

to those

around us

to so many

people who

are trying

to play

this comparison

game

thinking it's

going to

fulfill them

thinking it's

going to

help them

progress

but father

only leaves

them feeling

bitter

and resentful

and hated

hateful

father we

offer them

the peace

that comes

from you

only through

the salvation

that comes

also from

you

we pray

this in

your son's

name

amen