图片设计:吴文涛
第二部分 对症下药,逐一对付
19.嫉妒
嫉妒是一个祸根,它可以令人丧失理智,甚至把别人置于死地。嫉妒的人不能忍受别人比自己强,尤其对他们的同辈或亲友,更会妒忌他们的智慧、美貌、体魄、受人欢迎、物质的富足,以及家庭或工作上的顺利。
举例来说,当一个母亲看到邻居的孩子比自己的孩子更得人宠爱,或得到一段美满的婚姻,而自己的孩子却得不到的时候,她就会妒忌。许多时候,我们冷眼看人,只因为我们妒忌他事事顺利!
当我们看见神赐福给别人而不赐给我们的时候,我们就觉得受了伤害,内心的妒忌便流露在我们的言语行为上。我们会对他们不友善,排斥他们,与他们争辩,令对方难堪。
这还不算,许多时候,因为他们深得人心,受人爱戴,令我们变得无足轻重,我们就会像法利赛人向耶稣报复那样,向他们报复,抢他们的“镜头”。
我们在不知不觉间这样做,自以为有充分的理由反对他们。即使我们知道自己是在妒忌对方,也会设法使自己所做的看来并无大碍,或甚至自怜一番,说:“因为神给他而不给我嘛! ”好替自己的妒忌找借口。
我们像瞎了眼一样,看不见嫉妒会带来神严厉的审判,但圣经告诉我们,妒忌的人不能承受神的国(加5:20)。这是何等悲惨的结局! 即使信神的人,如果充满嫉妒也不能进入神的国。
因此我们不惜任何代价,也要对付这罪,把这祸根拔除,好在将来能够见主的面,永远与祂在一起。不要看轻嫉妒的罪,使徒彼得曾经这样告诫我们:“你们既除去一切的恶毒、诡诈、并假善、嫉妒……”(彼前2:1)
现在就要竭尽所能,要除去我们的嫉妒。首先,我们必须服从真理,承认自己妒忌别人拥有我们所没有的东西,紧记嫉妒是一种罪,会带来神的审判。这样我们才会畏惧并厌恶这罪,这让神揭穿我们妒忌的原因。
许多时候,妒忌是出于我们的自私或贪婪,对精神和物质的追求贪得无厌。因此,我们必须问自己:“我是否愿意放下我的私欲、我的财产并恩赐? 像主一样,放弃物质的享受和才干,不求人的喜爱,也不求人的尊重? 我是否相信神会祝福贫穷的人,让他们丰丰足足? ”
妒忌的另一根源是对神的疑惑。我们喜欢将自己和别人比较,仿彿天父存心偏坦,对别人特别的恩待,使他们福杯满溢,对自己却特别刻薄,头头碰黑。
我们必须除去这种疑惑的态度,相信神就是爱,祂会把最好的赐给我们,倘若祂有更好的东西,祂绝不会不赐给我们。无论神怎样带领我们,无论祂是否给我们某些东西,祂的安排都是最好的,因为是祂慈爱的手赐予的。
况且,我们还未知道事情的真相,就不能太快判断别人得到的是福是祸,也许我们羡慕别人所得到的,对他们来说却是一个负担呢!
妒忌的第三个原因是不知感恩。我们要为每一件事感谢神,甚至为别人得到的恩典而感谢神,那么妒忌就不能再在我们心中作祟了。
只要我们愿意痛改前非,不再妒忌别人,耶稣必会把我们从妒忌的罪中释放出来。祂的宝血能洗净我们的罪,使我们不再受罪的捆绑,不再被嫉妒抓牢,无论在任何环境,我们都有平安和喜乐。
当我们看见别人比我们更有恩赐的时候,我们仍然满心欢喜,享到天国的平安和喜乐! 就让我们起来,凭着信心打那美好的仗,这是绝对值得的!
You Will Never Be the Same
PART TWO: Individual Sins
Envy
Envy is a poisonous root in our soul that can kill others. Jesus Himself was delivered up to this murderous power, for it is written: Pilate "knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up" (Matt. 27: 18). Envious people cannot bear to see their neighbours-especially their equals or those they live with-get something more or better than themselves.
That is especially true in the areas that interest us most, for instance, intellectual endowments, physical beauty and strength, or recognition and popularity, material advantages and various blessings at home or at work. For instance, it hurts the envious mother when she sees that her neighbour's child is more popular than her own, or if he has a happy marriage when her child does not. How often do we look askance, just because the other is getting along all right!
In such situations, when God has given someone else something that He has denied us, we seldom stop at just having hurt feelings. This poison oozes out of our hearts in word and deed. In the more harmless cases we are unfriendly to others; we repel them; we quarrel with them and make life difficult for them. But often-just as the Pharisees took revenge on Jesus-we take revenge on others, because they have taken honour, recognition and popularity away from us through their own popularity.
We try to humiliate them somehow, to take them down a peg or two in the sight of others, or to put them out of the limelight as best we can. Sometimes we are unconscious of this, because we pretend that we have impartial reasons for fighting against them. And if we become conscious of our envy, perhaps we try to make it seem harmless or we even feel sorry for ourselves, because God has not given us something that He has given to others. If we do so, we are justifying our envy.
In our blindness we do not see that when we are filled with envy we will come under God's serious judgement. For envy is one of the sins that can exclude us from the Kingdom of God according to the Holy Scriptures (Gal. 5: 20 f.). For the envious this means a devastating fate in the future. They will be denied entrance into the kingdom of Jesus Christ, even if they are Christians. In the face of eternity we cannot tolerate envy at any price. This poisonous, sinful root has to be eradicated if we wish to be with Jesus forever. Because the Word of God speaks so clearly about envy, we have to take the Apostle Peter's admonition seriously: "So put away all malice and envy" (1 Pet. 2: 1).
Now it is a matter of making every effort to get rid of this sin. But how? First we have to pay homage to the truth and admit that we are envious because another has something we do not have. We have to record such feelings and thoughts soberly as sins. The judgement of God is upon them. Then we will be frightened and abhor this sin and will let ourselves be shown the roots of envy. The main roots are usually in our selfishness or in our cravings, whether they be for physical or spiritual goods. Therefore, we must ask ourselves, "Are we willing to surrender our selfishness and our claims on possessions and talents to Jesus and to be poor with Him in the way of material goods, abilities, love and respect? Are we willing to believe that God will always endow the poor and that they are the ones who are really rich?"
The second root of envy is mistrust against God. It is comparing ourselves with others, as though the Father in heaven had been unjust when He distributed His gifts and burdens. Therefore, it is a matter of renouncing our rebellious, mistrustful thoughts. Instead we must trust that God, because He is Love, always gives us what is best for us. He always leads us the best way. If He had a better way for us, He would have chosen it.
No matter how He leads us, whether He gives us something or not, it is always best for us, because it comes from the hands of the Father who loves us. We must believe that firmly. Besides, we can never judge the pleasures and burdens of others, because we cannot see the background! Perhaps we envy someone for something that is merely a difficult task for them.
The third root of envy is ingratitude. Therefore we must begin to give thanks for everything that we have received, and then there will be no more room for envy. If we give thanks to God for the gifts that others receive, the poison of envy must yield.
No matter what it costs, Jesus wants to free us from envy, if we will take the first step as a sign of our willingness and surrender our envious desires to Him. He has come to burst our chains. His blood is sufficient to heal this sinful ailment. He wants to transform us until we can remain at peace in situations where, formerly, our envy would have torn us to pieces.
Yes, until we can even rejoice when others have more talents than we do. When we are redeemed from this tormenting envy, we will become happy and able to taste His kingdom of peace and joy here, and one day we will dwell there eternally. Therefore, "fight the good fight of faith!" It is worth it!