Do Christians Ever Get Jealous With Fellow Christians?
I often find myself wondering how people know if there is envy or jealousy going on around them. This curiosity continued even further with the members of the church. If so, how do you avoid the hatred and not them? Or can you only avoid people who may be jealous when you avoid the people themselves?
The Role Of Social Media In Our Lives
Social media nowadays has been the root cause of why a high percentage of people are depressed. The culprit is not social media per se, though, but how it became the avenue to spark jealousy, hatred, and eventually discontentment.Validation has gone a long way as far as “likes” and “follows” are concerned. Then came the need to impress a lot of people. Or worse, to get into the game of portraying “the perfect” life on social media. Though originally designed to create an online community, it has now become a breeding ground of what the world demanded – pride in possessions, achievements, a picture-perfect appearance, and only the good experiences.Online users have long been fooled that other people’s lives are better than theirs. This negative impact of social media has created a dark stench in our hearts that we no longer see the good in what we have, what we do, and who we are. Comparisons now have skyrocketed from the little things to the big things.
How To Put Off That Fire Of Jealousy
And this is what we, as Christians, should totally avoid. How?“Be the salt and light” in a world that is corrupting each and every one of us to succumb to even more worldly desires. As Christians, we have to evade all attempts of the enemy to tempt us to go with the flow. We need to resist the temptation to conform and instead, reveal what truly matters.The only way we can do this best is through our lives. For instance, how much of our social media accounts reflect who God is in our lives? Do our friends even see Him in our daily posts? Or our social media accounts are the same as everyone else's? Do we also follow every trend on social media just because everyone else is doing it?
Related Post: A Heart For People
If we are guilty of doing these things, then we have to ask ourselves why we are doing them. Is it because we are envious? Do we need validation? Are we insecure? Is it for the need to impress? Or is it because we are trying to compete and be better than others?
Setting A Good Example
If we claim that we are a new creation in Christ, then we have to live it out by all means. We have to carry that new identity wherever we go, in whatever we do, and whatever may be the cost. If we say that we have turned our backs from the things of this world, then we must be willing to sacrifice any worldly thing that blots our identity from being called as sons and daughters of God.We were all called by God from sinners to redeemed believers not only to lift us out of the deep-seated troubles that we used to be in but also to make disciples. We cannot make new disciples if we, ourselves, do not have the authority to be one by how we live. Too often jealousy is what the enemy uses to tempt us to be a part of this world. But then again, we are no longer a part of this world when we claim that we have Jesus in our lives. We ought to live through Him and not through him for He who is above is greater than he who is in this world.
Wear The Armor of God
Thus, the next time we feel like being jealous of somebody else’s new travel photos, new bling, new house, new promotion, new award, or whatever it may be, pray for them that they see these things as a blessing and not as a need to conform to this world.
"Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes."
Pray as well that we may be able to put on the armor of God and use it accordingly when the need arises. This is very important especially when it comes to guarding our hearts, our minds, and our spirits from the attacks of the enemy.Lastly, let's pray that the Spirit will give us the discernment to know what is pleasing to God and not to this world because that is all that matters.