{"id":806,"date":"2024-02-19T16:14:48","date_gmt":"2024-02-19T16:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/?page_id=806"},"modified":"2025-12-15T19:59:51","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T19:59:51","slug":"defeating-that-green-eyed-monster","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/index.php\/defeating-that-green-eyed-monster\/","title":{"rendered":"DEFEATING THAT GREEN-EYED MONSTER"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Defeating That Green-Eyed Monster<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 Samuel 18:1-16<\/p>\n\n\n\n

INTRODUCTION:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good morning! It is so good to be with you again today. If you have your Bible, turn with me to 1 Samuel chapter 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many centuries ago, the church identified a group of sins (which plagued humanity) and they classified these as THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS!<\/em><\/strong> These included: Lust, Pride, Sloth, Wrath, Gluttony, Greed…And ENVY! One of the most subtle of these is ENVY!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Envy is an awful thing. It was ENVY, which sold Joseph into slavery, drove David into exile, threw Daniel in the den of lions, and (according to Matthew 27) \u2014 helped to place Jesus on the cross.\u00a0Envy leads us to live a life of comparison and competition. It often causes us to experience seasons of discouragement and depression. And, rather than finding satisfaction where God has placed us, we become discontent and long for that which does not belong to us.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we will discover how to defeat envy through the power of the gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what is ENVY? Envy is that feeling and emotion of unhappiness that we get when we hear of the success or good-fortune of others. It is present when we have a bad day because someone else has a good one. But ENVY also works in reverse. It shows up when we are happy because of somebody else\u2019s pain. When we have a good day at the expense of someone\u2019s bad day \u2014 that\u2019s envy. When we rejoiceat the sorrows of another\u2014that\u2019s envy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the clearest places to see this in scripture can be found in the story told in 1 Samuel chapter 18. So if you have your Bibles, turn there with me. 1 Samuel 18:1-16. Here Samuel tells us . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1<\/em><\/strong> After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. <\/em>2 <\/em><\/strong>From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. <\/em>3 <\/em><\/strong>And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. <\/em>4 <\/em><\/strong>Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. <\/em>5 <\/em><\/strong>Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul\u2019s officers as well. <\/em>6 <\/em><\/strong>When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. <\/em>7 <\/em><\/strong>As they danced, they sang: \u201cSaul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.\u201d <\/em>8 <\/em><\/strong>Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. \u201cThey have credited David with tens of thousands,\u201d he thought, \u201cbut me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

9 <\/em><\/strong>And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David. <\/em>10 <\/em><\/strong>The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand <\/em>11 <\/em><\/strong>and he hurled it, saying to himself, \u201cI\u2019ll pin David to the wall.\u201d But David eluded him twice. <\/em>12 <\/em><\/strong>Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul. <\/em>13 <\/em><\/strong>So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

14 <\/em><\/strong>In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him. <\/em>15 <\/em><\/strong>When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. <\/em>16 <\/em><\/strong>But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 Samuel 18:1-16 (NIV<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Envy is an awful foe. It is a monster that likes to lie just below the surface of our lives \u2014 haunting us with fear and insecurity and doubt and anger and wrath and many other harmful emotions.\u00a0Envy is pervasive; it seeps into every area of our lives. We often lump envy and jealousy together, but there is an important distinction between the two.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jealousy tends to be oriented toward that which we already possess (what I hold dear, like my my or children, or even possessions). However, envy tends to be oriented toward those things that someone else possesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jealousy is the fear of losing what I have. While envy is the desire to take want belongs to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MESSAGE: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the passage we\u2019re looking at this morning, Saul is provoked to envy by the success of David and the celebration of the crowds. You have to remember \u2014 this passage immediately follows David\u2019s huge victory over Goliath. But in the days that followed, he found even greater success in other battles against Israel\u2019s foes. As he did, King Saul moved from fearing the Philistines to fearing David.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which brings us to the heart of this message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ENVY will always cause you to see life through the lens of fear rather than through the lens of faith. So, let me give you a few telling signs of ENVY, so you can be on identify this monster before it ever grows within you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are 3 identifying features of ENVY. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First of all:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. ENVY ALWAYS FOLLOWS THE SUCCESS OF ANOTHER.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same way darkness follows light,<\/strong> so also does in envy follow the success of others. And it\u2019s usually the success of those closest to you (a friend, or colleague, or brother, or co-worker). When they experience success \u2014 ENVY<\/strong> stands tall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what happened in this story. In 1 Samuel 17<\/strong>, we\u2019re introduced to a young kid<\/strong> from the pastures of Bethlehem.<\/strong> At one point, he shows up on the battlefield to bring his older brothers some cheese sticks to snack on\u2026and he witnesses how his people are being shamed by the Philistines. So, he steps up to support his King and honor his God. As the story goes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n