Jealousy

Jealousy and comparison have been a big struggle for me for most of my life. I compared myself to others in almost every way possible. My grades, my clothes, my family, my body, my voice, my talents, ect. The list could go on and on. I reached a point in my life where I no longer wanted to be me. I would have given anything to be able to choose to be someone else. Why, because I thought that the people around me were better than me. I was jealous of them. I thought that they were smarter, prettier, and more talented than me and, if they were honest, I’m pretty sure that most people have had the same struggles. Jealousy and comparison are not unusual things. They are present in each of our day to day lives.

Satan tells us that we would be happy if only we had what someone else has. We let jealousy penetrate our hearts and create barriers between us and other people and even God. In the book of James it says that “wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind” (James 3 : 16). Jealousy may seem harmless at first, because it appears to us as if it is only affecting us, but it’s not. In fact it can hurt us and the people around us.

One of the most common lies Satan tells us when we are feeling jealous of someone is that no one understand what we are going through. We think that no one has as big of problems as us. We let these lies we believe isolate us. We build a wall around ourselves and don’t let anyone in or tell them how we feel. This gives the enemy an opportunity to get a foothold in our lives and get us to believe more lies about ourselves, our lives, and about God. When we separate ourselves from the truth, we separate ourselves from God. Once we let Satan deceive us, we give him the power to lead us down the wrong path and the only way out is to go back to God’s truth. We have to break the agreements that we have made with Satan and choose to believe God’s truth. The truth is that we are God’s children that he created in his own perfect image (Genesis 1 : 27). God has made each of us in a unique way. We are his artwork. We are His creation. We are perfect the way he made us and we don’t have to try to be anyone else.

When we are feeling jealous of someone, it is because we have let Satan tell us that we don’t measure up. He convinces us that we have to try to be someone else in order to be accepted. He tells us that no one understands what we are going through. God says that our “brothers (or sisters) throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering” (1 Peter 5 : 9). He tells us that we are precious in his sight ( Isaiah 43 : 4). We have to chose to believe God instead of the enemy and the world. Jealousy is a common struggle but it can only truly be cured by God’s love and redeeming power. Choose him. He will set you free!

If you have any questions or would like learn more about The C.A.N Sisters’ Ministry, leave a comment below, check out our website, or email us at cansistersministry@gmail.com.