Love Does Not
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:4
Love does not envy or boast…
Envy is cravenly desiring what someone else has. In the context of 1 Corinthians, the Christians were envious of one another’s spiritual gifts. That was particularly true when it came to the “platform” gifts. What I mean is, certain spiritual gifts would place a person in front of others. If one is gifted as a teacher, for example, God’s place for them in the church would necessarily mean they would be in front of others teaching to carry out their role in God’s church. What about the person who has the gift of serving? Many times that might involve anonymity to a degree. They wouldn’t be as noticeable or as noticed as the person teaching, preaching, or leading in the singing. And they might be tempted to sin with envy.
Envy isn’t just covetousness. It is that, but it often involves more than that. It creates resentment towards those we envy. When we are envious we see them as the enemy. We start to render judgments about them in our minds. We think poorly of them and their motives.
In short, we don’t love them. When we ought to be rejoicing with them in the way God is using them, we are instead finding ways to critique and criticize how they exercise their gifting. When we ought to be encouraging and supporting them, we are finding ways to discourage and undermine what they are doing.
When you find yourself in the bitterness of envy, realize what you are doing is not a fruit of love. Then, pray for God’s forgiveness and seek His grace to learn how to love others from the heart.
