Topic > Christian Beliefs > Humanity >
Discover insight into ways to combat envy in our own lives
Friday, November 23, 2012
IDEA: Envy can cause us to miss what God is doing in the world.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand the pitfalls of envy.
Have you ever missed something really important to you because you were pouting or envious or were tied up in knots about some technicality or an
Insight into recognizing and avoiding envy
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
IDEA: Even people who have much to commend them can be driven to mean deeds through envy.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand the power of envy to drive any and all of us to hurt others.
Let’s look at one of the most overlooked, and underrated, issues we face, envy
Why does envy make it onto the list of seven deadly sins; is it really “deadly” or is that exaggeration; and what can we do to conquer the sin of envy when it shows up in our thoughts and in the way we treat others and just in the way we’re looking at life?
Falling Short
One of the fads of 1970s America was the motorcycle jump. This trend reached its high (and low) point on September 8, 1974. Thousands of spectators gathered around the Snake River Canyon in Idaho to see if Evel Knievel could jump across the chasm in a specially designed “sky cycle.” In the end, however, it was unsuccessful. Knievel made it only part of the way across the gulf before his parachute deployed and he dropped to the canyon floor below. Some spectators asked, “How far across the canyon did he get?” But that wasn’t the point. He didn’t make it all the way across, so he fell short of his goal.
An eye-opening discussion on the consequences of jealousy
“Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.) Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out. Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. Then He said, “Here now My words: if there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision, and I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses: he is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings; and he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?” So the anger
Nowhere To Hide
I smelled something burning, so I hurried to the kitchen. Nothing was on the stove or in the oven. I followed my nose through the house. From room to room I went, eventually ending up downstairs. My nose led me to my office and then to my desk. I peeked beneath it and there, peering back at me with big eyes pleading for help, was Maggie, our dog, our very “fragrant” dog. What smelled like something burning when I was upstairs, now had the distinct odor of skunk. Maggie had gone to the farthest corner of our house to escape the foul smell, but she couldn’t get away from herself.
Something To Hide
If you have something to hide, Mike Slattery may have the solution. Several years ago, a cell-phone company wanted to erect an antenna on his property and disguise it as a pine tree. Mike had a better idea and built a fake barn with vinyl panels that allow the radio waves to pass through them. He developed that concept into a company that builds structures to hide antennas for aesthetic and security reasons. Slattery is convinced that many of his neighbors still have no idea what’s inside his barn (The Gazette, Colorado Springs).
The Hidden Door
It wasn’t the first time it happened in sports, and it certainly won’t be the last. But perhaps mentioning it again can help keep us from making a similar shameful error.
Dealing with the important issue of forgiveness
Nobody’s perfect. In fact, Romans 3:23 says “. . . all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” But for some, the weight of guilt keeps them from accepting a life with Christ.
Ignorance & Innocence
Some people avoid going to the doctor because they don’t want to find out that anything is wrong with them. Some people avoid going to church for the same reason. But ignorance of our sickness doesn’t make us healthy, and ignorance of our sin doesn’t make us innocent
Just This Once
As a boy, I used to ride a go-cart that was steered with a rope. On one occasion, as I propelled my way down the driveway, my parents’ warning came to mind: “Always look up and down the street for cars.” But I rationalized: It’s okay not to do that just this once. Then I heard the sound of screeching tires as a car came to an abrupt stop to avoid hitting me. Thinking I could break my parents’ rule nearly cost me my life.
Night Crew
Pat’s first job was working on the night crew at a grocery store. After closing time, he and the other employees stocked the shelves. Pat’s boss had instructed them to always turn the soup cans forward so that the label could be read easily. But he had gone a little further by saying, “Make sure that they’re facing forward—three cans back.” One night as Pat was arranging the shelves, his co-workers began to scoff, “Just make sure the front can is turned the right way. Who’s gonna know?”
Apologies
Mark messed up. He arrived an hour late at a restaurant where he was to meet a friend from church. The friend had already left. Feeling sorry about his mistake, Mark purchased a gift certificate from the restaurant and stopped at a local card shop to search for an apology card. Among hundreds of cards, he was surprised to find only a few “sorry for my actions” cards in an obscure part of the store. He purchased one and gave it to his friend who accepted his apology.
Slacker?
While studying the book of Proverbs in my small-group Bible study, our leader suggested that we change the description of a lazy person from a sluggard to a slacker (6:6,9). Ah, now he was speaking my lingo. I immediately started thinking of all the people I consider to be slackers.
Making a difference for God
Often the major changes in our lives are precipitated by outside influences. And those influences don’t always guide us down the right path! Join the conversation as the team invites us to consider the changes that take us in the right direction.
