And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” And Saul was very angry…And Saul eyed David from that day on.
(1 Sam 18:7 & 9)
You don’t have to listen to me if you don’t want to, but I know how to do it. I really do. For years now people have been clamoring and striving for this one thing. From the beauty pageant contestant all the way to the praying nun with rose-colored rosary beads in her hand; it is the single thing people are hungering for. Even the pencil-necked congressman on Capitol Hill is campaigning to bring this thing to his weary constituents.
That’s right, I know how to usher in “world peace.” I stumbled upon it in my study of 1 Samuel 18.
I am not going to try to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony. Nor to grow apple trees and honey bees, we have plenty of those in the area where I now live and people are still angry at each other. My answer is far simpler, and the great part is that everyone reading this has access to this thing.
I know the secret… are you ready?
BE CONTENT with what you have and where you are at in life & STOP BEING JEALOUS OF OTHERS!
That is all you have to do. Saul the King was jealous of David’s success and he wouldn’t let it go. As a result, he hunted him down the rest of his life. Jealousy drove him mad.
Think about it: You really have it great right now. You could be living on a mound of garbage, or walking with a chain gang around Lake Baikal up in northern Siberia where a Gulag prison camp was waiting for you. You could have two left feet or no feet at all.
You could be like my 56-year-old sister Laura who hasn’t once left the house on her own, thrown a ball, gone to a local 4th of July parade or kissed a boy. You could be Kim Jon Un’s personal assistant. Yuck! Or do you know what the worst thing is that could happen to you? Check this video out!
James 3:14-16 says very plainly…
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
What do you want that someone else has? Just thinking about that thing right now is chemically doing something to your brain that is not good. Jealousy works on you like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde potion. Instead of whistling a happy tune in peaceful contentment, jealousy makes you seeth and pout and wring your hands wanting.
Don’t you feel your face pinching together and your brow furrowing as you dream about having, wanting and then needing what you don’t have? Your blood pressure is rising right this second as you try to grab that thing that is out of your reach. It drove King Saul insane.
Think of our political malaise right now? How many policies and debates are born out of jealousy? And the moment someone cries “Inequity”, “Unfair”, “Give me my fair share”, “Privilege”, it is a sure sign that jealousy raising its ugly head and poisoning a heart.
Mr. Hyde is always ready to pounce and he is trying to convince you that you’re getting stiffed by the world.
There is a sinkhole in my backyard. A giant tree was uprooted before we bought our house and it left an underground spring that keeps sucking topsoil down and washing it away. After that happens I will fill the hole with stone and dirt thinking I fixed the problem. For a few months or even a year and I forget about the hole because it looks like the fill is holding.
But then a big rainstorm comes and the hole once again is exposed. No matter how much dirt I put over top, that darn hole appears.
A jealous discontent heart is like my sinkhole. It wants something someone else has, thinking it will fill the void — and if it gets that thing it will seem content… until a storm comes. That storm could be the success of another or a personal failure. But whatever the storm is it will wash away the false contentment swiftly and the jealous heart will convince me I need something else to fill it.
Money, title, honor, and accumulating things become the material we use to fill the hole; but over time they prove themselves to be just as useless as spreading a thin layer of topsoil over a sinkhole is.
So what fills a jealous heart?
One thing: Love for God and his glory alone. When I truly love God I begin to love others as he loves them. And when I love others that way I rejoice when they rejoice. I get excited when another receives promotions, accolades and honor. I don’t throw spears at those who have what I want as Saul did to David,
Love for God also trusts him that he knows what he is doing. I allow God to honor and gift people differently. I allow God to give my neighbor a cabin on the lake without demanding he must do the same for me.
Long lasting contentment is the surest sign the hole has been permanently filled. It also is a sign of trust in God and it is the only way to world peace — or at least peace in my world.
Why is the world reeling? It’s full of sinkholes.
