Watch out for spiritual jealousy

We all know the story of Cain and Abel, yet for this teaching, let us read “Genesis 4: 1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

The Bible never specifies why Cain’s offering was not acceptable compared to Abel’s offering. There have been many speculations, and yes, it remains but speculative. The emphasis is rather on Cain’s reaction and his attitude towards God and towards Abel. Ultimately, he was offended because God had not accepted his offering. He was now angry with Abel. He was jealous and anger raged within him.

Since the dawn of mankind, God has always remained Sovereign. He wills as He wills for the benefit and good of the Kingdom. He sovereignly chose Israel as part of the master plan for Jesus to be born from this nation. They were not a special race, but God has to choose someone. He subsequently chose Abraham, Noah, Moses, David and so many others for very specific purposes. None of them were extraordinary or more superior to anyone else. God’s Sovereignty is not tainted by our ideas and perceptions, yet is supreme in design and functionality. We simply have to accept and embrace it. Indeed, great men and women of the Bible were simply chosen to be part of God’s plan because of God’s Sovereign will. Like He chose Paul to be Gospel carrier to the Gentile nation, and how God chose the original 12 disciples. The 12 were not educated or famous, but God had a plan and needed 12 men to fulfil that vision.

There is a very clear danger when we allow ourselves to be tainted by spiritual jealousy, meaning we get angry at God and people if, in our view, someone enjoys unfair preferential treatment, or is favoured above anyone else, or has a better ministry or has been granted more gifts or whatever gets us thrown off course. Spiritual jealously is toxic, and it allows for offence and anger to creep into our soul and our spirit. We begin to wonder why someone has such a great ministry as if God shows favouritism. It says in Acts 10:32 "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him”. Many of Peter's fellow Jews thought that God loved them more than the Gentiles, but Peter came to understand that God did not show favouritism. God wants people of all nations to repent and be saved (2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:4).

God is Sovereign. He chooses by sovereign will our spiritual walk and our calling. We have to realise we are all unique, special and favoured by God when we seek Him and make Him our Lord and Master. He is not a respecter of man. Money will not buy His favour. Only your willingness to love Him and walk with Him in obedience, in reverence and loyalty. All callings and mandate are of equal importance and equal worth when it comes to the Kingdom. If not, God then shows favour. We must be careful that we do not desire what others seemingly have when it comes to their walk with God. We must not desire, thus covet (one of the 10 commandments) people’s ministry, or their spiritual gifts, or their calling. We are all part of the Body of Christ, and we need each other equally, just like it is stipulated in 1 Corinthians 12 how every part of the human body is of equal importance.

In the case of Cain, the Lord said to Him: “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Cain questioned God, and he allowed offence and anger into his life. He thus allowed spiritual jealousy to act as a conduit to sin, and so he acted upon that anger by killing his brother. Sin ruled his life and so he suffered in his anger. When we thus allow any sort of jealousy, especially spiritual of nature, to rule us, then we toy with sin and we can get into deep trouble. Colossians 3:15 says: “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Yes, we are called to walk in peace, be content, be at ease with God, and not strife, or be jealous or angry. God is Sovereign and He knows best.

Take note, God asked Cain why he was angry. Thus Cain has no reason to be offended. And many times when we get angry or offended, even at God, there is no reason. It is normally based on a misunderstanding or a lack of wisdom and counsel that gets us into hot water. Cain was deeply disappointed. His countenance has fallen. He was warned of checking his heart for sin was ready to break down the door and enter his life. And it did. In 2 Corinthians 13:5 we are encouraged to examine yourselves as to whether we are in the faith and to test yourselves. We need to constantly be making sure we do not walk in jealousy, or we have fallen into the trap of coveting God’s gifts operating in other people’s lives. Jeremiah 17:10 says “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.” We may fail to test our hearts, but God does not fail. He knows what we are thinking. We cannot hide anger, offence or jealousy from Him. So we need to deal with it and quickly.

Spiritual jealousy is also found in Numbers 12: “1 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2 So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. 3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.) 4 Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out. 5 Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. 6 Then He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. 7 Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. 8 I speak with him face to face, Even plainly, and not in [d]dark sayings; And he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?” 9 So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, and He departed. 10 And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper. 11 So Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. 12 Please do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb!” 13 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “Please heal her, O God, I pray!”

Take note, Miriam and Aaron were jealous of Moses and were even offended that God spoke directly to Moses. And as with Cain, they forgot that sin waited at the door and in their jealousy and anger, Miriam became leprous. She allowed sin to rule her heart, instead of God’s peace. She even said, “please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned.” Spiritual jealousy is foolishness. And destructive.

We have to very careful of jealousy. Numbers 5:14 mentions jealousy as a spirit, something which is unclean and thus demonic. Indeed, as Deuteronomy 4:24 declares, God is a consuming fire and a jealous God, but we should remember He does not allow such jealousy to move Him out of a state of purity and holiness to sin. And yes, we need to be jealous of God (this is a teaching for another lesson), but we must guard against falling prey to envy of a negative kind. We, however, are in danger when we allow such feelings to overwhelm us and we allow for sin to break down the door and to rule us. Indeed, Proverbs 27:4 says: “Wrath is cruel and anger a torrent, but who is able to stand before jealousy?” In Galatians 5:20, jealousies are mentioned as a work of the flesh. There is nothing good about jealousy, especially when it comes to our brothers and sisters in Christ and when it comes to how God works within the Body of Christ by His Sovereign Will.

One can only guess that many were jealous of Paul and his ministry. In 1 Corinthians 1 Paul said: 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. 12 Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” Paul made it very clear that man by himself is nothing special. We are not even special by our calling or mandate. We are only someone because of our relationship in Christ, which is only possible by His grace and mercy. Thus we need to abide in the Lord.

Indeed, offence is dangerous, and so is spiritual jealousy. It says in “Ephesians 4: 27 nor give place to the devil” and also “1 Peter 5:8: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” We must always check our hearts. Examine ourselves. We need to trust God in the way He moves and works. Sin is always lurking, for the devil is always looking for a gap to pounce.

God’s word to Cain rings forever true: “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” We must simply obey God and trust in Him. We must not question, or try to be like others or try to imitate ministries or callings. We must do as God commands and do well in excellence. Then we shall be accepted and be blessed. And so Paul writes in “Philippians 4:11: Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” Indeed, it says in “Hebrews 13:5: Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have” and 1 Timothy 6 states “6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.”

To be content is very important, for it brings peace and joy. Contentment means accepting God’s will, His way and His plan for our lives. Titus 3:9 speaks about avoiding contentions, meaning heated disagreements. When we are displeased with God we are displeased with others, which leads to strife and conflict as in the case with Abel and Cain. Let us rather strive to be at peace with all man, with God and ourselves. Thus, trust God and be still and know He is God.