Jealousy: Guest Blogger: Alison

Jonah 4:9-10
But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the
vine?"
"I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die."
But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though
you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died
overnight."

To put the above scripture in context, Jonah was angry first at God's
compassion towards the Gentilles and second Jonah was made even more
upset when his own circumstances worsened because the vine that had
provided him protection from the elements died.

How many times have we been so consumed by jealousy of what other
people have and what we don't have, only to overlook the things God
has provided us with? And then we have the audacity to get angry at
God when things in our own life start to crumble? Oh the nerve! We
have been so focused on what was missing that we fail to take care of
what we have.

I could go on about how God teaches us to be good custodians of the
things he provides to us, which is definitely a part of the scripture
here. But what speaks to me loudest here is the line where Jonah
says, "I am angry enough to die." Now that is jealousy to the
extreme!

This reminds me of my circumstances at work a couple years ago. A guy
was hired into a parallel position to my own; we have pretty much the
same responsibilities we just cover different lines of business.
Shortly after he was hired I found out he made about 25% more than I
did and I was extremely upset. This was just not fair! Not only did
I have more experience than he did, but on top of our same
responsibilities, I was also managing several projects and was
responsible for our company website. I tried to talk to the marketing
director about it but he deferred my salary negotiations until my new
direct boss was hired. My new boss was hired 6 months later, and he
deferred my salary negotiations for several more months.

This whole time I was just seething with repressed anger towards the
marketing director. You could see it in my work ethic. I no longer
put forth 110% effort, I did just enough to get my work done and keep
my boss satisfied. I was so consumed with jealousy towards my
coworker that I stopped caring about moving my own career ahead. I
started to let my "vine" whither away.

God has blessed me abundantly, and I recognize this now. I have let
go of my jealousy, not just towards my coworker but towards everyone
and everything I had envied. No, I still haven't received my big
raise, and you know what? I'm okay with it. I'm going to give 110%
in everything I do because I am confident that my efforts will be
rewarded one day, and it may not be in a way that I am expecting.

God, I just want to thank you for all that you have provided me in my
life. Please help me to become a better custodian of your provisions
and help me to see when jealousy begins to cloud my judgment.