Galatians 5:25-26 says, "If we are living now by the Spirit's power, let us follow the Holy Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. Then we won't need to look for honors and popularity, which lead to envy and hard feelings." Can we agree that we live in a very competitive society? As a result of that we have envy in our lives. Every one of us has envy.

Here is a good working definition of envy: resenting God's goodness in others' lives and ignoring God's goodness in our own life. In our society today, envy is encouraged. I read the results of one marketing study showing that people will buy an inferior product if the product implies that it is expensive and that you are wealthy enough to afford it. It doesn't matter whether it's a good or bad product. If it has the right name on it, we will show off our wealth, status, and power and will buy it simply to make other people envy us. Envy says, "Not only do I want my grass greener than yours, I'm praying for yours to turn brown."

Where does envy occur? Everywhere and anywhere. It can occur at home. The Bible is full of examples of envy in the family: sibling rivalry, Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Leah and Rachel, Joseph and his brothers. There is a lot of envy in families.

At work we call envy "professional jealousy." Doctors envy doctors, secretaries envy other secretaries, employees envy employers, pastors envy other pastors. At school envious kids compare grades, clothes, toys, appearance, athletic ability.

I heard the story of a monk who the devil was trying to tempt to sin. The devil tempted him with lust and that didn't work, with anger and that didn't work, with greed and that didn't work. Finally the devil whispered in the monk’s ear, "Your brother has just been made a bishop." That got him!

Everybody deals with envy, and if left alone, it will always be destructive. The Bible gives us three reasons to avoid it:

First, envy causes conflict with others. James 4:1 says, "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?" Envy destroys relationships. Even best friends can see their relationship destroyed because one of them got special recognition or a promotion or achieved more and all of a sudden the other becomes envious. Envy can cause tremendous conflict in relationships.

Second, envy leads to other sins. James 3:16 says, "For where you find envy there you find disorder and every evil practice." Envy can lead to lying, gossip, anger, adultery, greed. Cain killed Abel because of envy. Joseph was thrown into a pit by his brothers because of envy. The Bible says Jesus was put on the cross by the Pharisees because of envy. That's the power of envy. It leads to other sins. The envious person can't tolerate anybody being better off than them, and is determined to do something about it.

3. Envy makes us miserable. It ruins our happiness. Proverbs 14:30 reads, "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones!" Envy is like a cancer. It eats you up on the inside. When you are resenting God's goodness in somebody else's life and ignoring God's goodness in your own, you're only hurting yourself. Phrases like "It's not fair! ... He gets all the breaks! ... How come I never get anything like that?" are signs of envy and a tortured soul.

If I were to tell you that you had cancer, you would want to immediately get it cut out and dealt with. Envy is worse than that cancer, for it can destroy the soul. You need to cut it out of your life and be rid of it once and for all so it does not mess you up anymore.

Let me share with you four ways to get rid of envy in your life:

1. Resist comparing yourself to others. Paul said in 2 Cor. 10:12, "We do not dare classify or compare ourselves. It is not wise." God says if we are comparing ourselves to somebody else, that's dumb! If we see somebody better than us, we’ll get discouraged. If we see somebody that we’re better than, we’ll get full of pride. Either way we get hurt. Don't compare yourself to other people! Comparing is the root of envy. If you're going to stop envy you've got to stop comparing.

"Let everyone be sure to do his very best, for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work done well, and won't need to compare himself with someone else." Galatians 6:4 Learn this verse! It doesn't matter how we compare to other people as long as we're doing our very best. That's where the satisfaction comes in. Make an effort to stop comparing yourself to other people.

2. Recognize your uniqueness. If we want to break the grip of envy in our life and not be unhappy all the time because somebody else has more, we must recognize our uniqueness. Ps. 139:13 says, "You, God, created every part of me; you put me together in my mother's womb." God designed you in your mother's womb. You have designer genes. There will never be another person, ever, like you. You are unique. So don't compare yourself. You don't need to envy anybody else! I don't need to envy you and you don't need to envy me because we all have plans designed by God for our lives.

3. Rejoice in what you have. Be grateful for what you've already got. We're so busy worrying about what we don't have we don't enjoy what we do have. Eccl. 6:9 reads, "It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else."

Phil. 4:11says, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." All of us need this verse because we all aren't content. If you've got wavy hair you want straight hair. If you have straight hair you want wavy hair. If you're short you want to be taller. If you're tall you want to be shorter. I meet singles who want to be married, marrieds who want to be single. Everybody wants to be something different. Notice it says, "I have learned to be content." Circle "learned". Contentment is not a natural trait. Paul says we need to learn contentment. Many of us need to enroll in the school of contentment. Class 101 is "I already have more than I deserve".

Contentment comes from understanding that God has provided all that we need for our current happiness. Does that mean that you have no ambition, goals, desires? Of course not. Ambition isn’t bad, but don’t let your ambition and goals rob you of contentment now.

4. Refocus on pleasing God. Refocus on pleasing God instead of impressing other people. Col. 3:2 says, "Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth." When we look at life from God's viewpoint, we begin to realize that everything here on earth is temporary. Focus on what's going to last forever. Readjust your values. Focus on pleasing God. Make that the primary aim of your life.

When we focus on pleasing God, competition becomes irrelevant. It just doesn't matter anymore. Instead of always competing, you can be set free to focus on giving and helping. "And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased" (Heb.13:16). God has called you, put you on the earth, given you a niche, and you are to do the best you can with what you have. One day you are going to enjoy the rewards for eternity. It doesn't matter who gets ahead this week, this month, or this year, because you are looking at it from the long perspective of eternity. Refocus on pleasing God.

If envy has been controlling your life, perhaps you need to pray a simple prayer as we close this morning "God, help me to resist comparing myself to others. Help me to recognize my uniqueness, that I don't have to act like anybody else to be worthwhile. Help me to learn to be grateful for what I've got, and to not always worry about what I don't have. Help me to learn to be content in every circumstance. Most of all help me to refocus on pleasing you and not on impressing other people. Help me to set my mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Help me to focus on being the person you want me to be and the future we have forever in heaven. Father, thank you for your word. Help me to be at peace. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Brother Polk preached a series of sermons on baptism you may enjoy by following these links.