Live Free with Josh Howerton - The Comparison Trap | Ep. 306 | Monday, April 8, 2024

Episode Date: April 8, 2024

Envy is resenting God’s goodness in other people’s lives while ignoring His goodness in yours. Envy is found in multiple lists of sins throughout the New Testament, including right next to murder and drunkenness. It rots our bones and robs our joy. Comparison never leads anywhere good, but gratitude for God’s goodness leads to life. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's Word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, happy Monday, everybody. Hope you had a great weekend, and that it included worship and learning and rest and reflection and fun

and family and connecting with God and other people. Thanks for joining us on the Daily Drive. We're here Monday through Friday, and we just want to stay connected to God throughout the week and allow him to speak some wisdom, some truth, and some hope and to our soul. I'm Mike Bro, by the way, and tonight is the championship game of the road to the Final Four.

So who you got? Or maybe you could care less, but I love it. And even though my brackets are completely busted, I will tune in and watch. Now, last week we launched into a discussion about what could be called the fatal four. And we began talking about four deadly enemies that could really take us out if we're not aware and we don't go all the offensive to deal with them. We already talked about pride and anger, and if you missed any of those episodes, you can go back and check them out. And today I want to talk about what I'm calling the number three seed in this deadly bracket.

I'm talking about envy. Now, I'm sure I'm giving you this definition of envy before, but I need to be reminded of it often. And the key to learning is repetition, so here you go again. Envy is resenting God's goodness in other people's lives while ignoring his goodness in mind. Envy is resenting God's goodness in other people's lives while ignoring his goodness in mind. They call envy the green-eyed, yeah, a monster. And even though we label it a monster, we tend to think of it as one of those, you know, lesser sins. But do you know that envy is listed in the New Testament right there beside some pretty ugly things?

Deceit, orgies, hypocrisy, anger, malice, slander, stealing, and murder. I mean, few of us would place envy and murder in the same sin classification. we don't think of envy as part of a dark character, but it is. And that's what makes this such an underrated opponent. Because if envy goes unchecked, it will have all kinds of murderous effects. For starters, envy ruins our health. I mean, all kinds of studies back this up. It's impossible to be an envious person and a healthy person at the same time.

Envy is insidious and progressive in nature. It kills our ability to celebrate. It just keeps chipping away at our insides. It eats away at your peace. And when your peace is gone, your contentment is gone. And when your contentment is gone, your gratitude is gone. And when your gratitude is gone, your joy is gone. And when your joy is gone, your strength is gone.

And when your strength is gone, worry and anxiety step into that void and rob you of your sleep. Your nerves begin to tighten. Your body begins to break down, headaches, back aches, knots in your stomach, hypertension, begins to escalate. That's why it says in Proverbs 1430, a heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. In Psalm 73, David writes this about envy. He says, for I envied the proud. When I saw them prosper despite their wickedness, they seem to live such a painless life. Their bodies are so healthy and strong, they aren't troubled like other people are plagued with problems like everyone else. Look at these arrogant people, enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply.

Was it for nothing that I kept my heart pure and kept myself from doing wrong? All I get is trouble all day long. Every morning brings me pain. If I could just get more stuff, if they could just get less, if God could just bring them down a notch, then things would be more fair. And then he says this, Then I realized how bitter I'd become. Then I realized how bitter.

I had become. Envy seeks to level the playing field, either to level up self or level down other people. The goal is to have self emerge as number one. But that never happens because there's always someone else to envy. It is never satisfied, and it always leads to a bitter heart. And we tend to be most envious to the people who are most like us and seem to function or compete in our same arena. I mean, who are salespeople envious of? They aren't envious of other artists, they're envious of other successful salespeople. A mom doesn't envy professional athletes. She envies other moms whose family life seems to have it all together. Musicians, envy other musicians, teachers, other teachers, coaches, other coaches, pastors, other pastors.

Now again, I know that some of you don't agree with my fatal four list. Or you say, okay, okay, bro, I'll give you pride and anger, but envy, come on, man. A little envy is motivational. A little jealousy is all part of competition. It's just the way our system works. It's just the way you play the game. Well, it might be the way our system works, but it is not the way God works. And plus, this is not a game. It's our life, and envy will wreck it. It says this in Job chapter 11, verse 23 through 25. Some people stay healthy till the day they die. They die happy and at ease. Their body's well-nourished. Others have no happiness at all. They live. and die with bitter hearts. That's where envy leads. It ruins our health, physically,

mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It gets us running at this unsustainable pace and competing at very unhealthy levels. I'm telling you the comparison trap is such an unhealthy place to live. Solomon also made a wise observation that I think totally nails our current culture. Ecclesiastes 4-4, he writes, then I observed that most people are motivated to success by their envy of their neighbors. But this too is meaningless, like chasing the wind. Envy ruins relationships. You're always sizing other people up.

You're comparing your life with their life, their stuff, their talents, their house, their car, their clothes, their looks, their body, their family, their bank account, their popularity. And people become a threat. and you begin to chuck a life of gratitude totally out the window. Envy is resenting God's goodness in someone else's life while ignoring his goodness in mind. It's a deadly enemy, capable of destroying our lives and those around us. Still not convinced? It says this in Mark chapter 15, verse 10,

that the primary motive, the primary motive behind the crucifixion of Jesus was, You guessed it. It was out of envy that the chief priest handed Jesus over to be crucified. So let's get after this. Come back tomorrow, and we're going to unpack a game plan so that this thing won't get the best of us. And then I hope you have a great day, and we will pick up right here tomorrow. We'll see you back. Thanks for tuning in today.

For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturday. at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 9.30 and 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. For more information, visit lakepoint.com. Church slash daily drive.