The world of advertising entices us to sin. It wants us to want what others have.

A TV commercial shows two neighbors. One owns a new car. The other eyes the car, imagining driving one like it. Viewers at home watch the commercial while engaging in their own driving fantasies.

But not everyone can purchase the latest, desirable product. Many who can’t, keep watching TV (or their  neighbors) through eyes of envy. For the Christian, envy is a spiritual detour.

“For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work” (James 3:16, KJV).

Possessions and Promotions

Envy wants something another has. Envy is unhappy at not having it, displeased that the other person does have it. It could be a possession. It could be a position. But wanting isn’t enough. Envy can be unhappy and hungry to the point of finding a way to take what it wants.

You wouldn’t think kings and queens, with abundant possessions, would envy anyone. But there was a king whose jewels, livestock, and vast land weren’t enough. He wanted his neighbor’s vineyard.

King Ahab made Naboth an offer. Naboth refused, preferring to keep the vineyard in the family. The discontented king went home, went to bed, and sulked. That story from I Kings 21 doesn’t end there. Actions were taken, resulting in Naboth’s death.

Others in the Bible, overlooked for a promotion, envied the one who received it.

When King Darius planned to give the prophet Daniel the second highest post in all of Persia (Daniel 6:1-3), other leaders in the kingdom envied Daniel. Their envy turned into a plot that had Daniel cast into the lion’s den. But God’s grace triumphed (Daniel 6:19-21).

Status and Security

In 2014, a young man in Isla Vista, California  named Elliot Rodger went on a killing spree. Then he took his own life. He left behind a 141 page “manifesto.” It detailed instances of envy he felt throughout his life.

Like King Ahab, Elliot held possessions of the privileged. But he envied peers who were wealthier, more popular, or more attractive. He knew he couldn’t obtain the things he wanted by violence, but by then his lifetime of envy had turned to the “confusion and every evil work” James mentions.

Lack of feeling secure led others in the Bible to desperate measures—

• Cain felt that removing his brother, Abel, from the equation would improve his status in God’s eyes.
• Sisters, Rachel and Leah spent their lives competing for Jacob’s affection.
• King Saul promoted David, then sought ways to erase his celebrity after hearing the women sing, “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands” (I Samuel 18:7, NKJV).
•   Lucifer lost his original position in Heaven due to envy (Isaiah 14:12-14).

Wants and Wishes

As Christians we hold dual citizenship. Our permanent citizenship is in Heaven (Philippians 3:20) while our temporary citizenship is on earth, surrounded by things that catch our attention.

But we don’t have to take the envy detour. We can protect ourselves by choosing what to dwell on. That happens in two parts while living in two worlds.

The envy detour begins when we overemphasize things of earthly value (temporary trinkets and titles) .

The solution? “Set your mind and keep your mind habitually on things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporary value]” (Colossians 3:2, Amplified).

The envy detour can also begin when we don’t fully appreciate God’s earthly blessings. Jerry Bridges says, “The cure for the sin of envy and jealousy is to find our contentment in God.”

The envy detour lures us when we compare ourselves with others. The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians that comparing is unwise (II Corinthians 10:12).

The Road Ahead:

1. Stay focused on Heaven’s rewards. The envy detour lowers our eyes to too highly value the temporary. We can keep our minds on what’s eternal by following Jesus’ teachings hour by hour, which creates treasures in Heaven, that “neither moth nor rust destroys” and which thieves cannot “break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20, NKJV).  
2. Stay thankful for earthly blessings. The envy detour blinds us to God’s abundant blessings. Remaining thankful on the main road reminds us that God is fair. His grace gives us more than any of us deserve.
3. Stay happy for others who have things you can live without. The detour severs relationships with those we envy. Happiness for how God blesses others keeps us on the main road, content for all we do have.

Further Fuel: Psalm 68:19; Philippians 4:19; I Timothy 6:6.