The Envy Trap
1 Timothy 6:6-6:10
TEXT: I Timothy 6:3-10 TITLE: The Envy Trap
How many of you have heard of the tooth
fairy? (The question met with a little laughter as everyone raised their
hands). I read a story not so long ago about a woman whose 2nd grader had
collected a fair amount of money from the "tooth fairy." Every time
her daughter Rachel lost a tooth, they’d put it in a small envelope and put it
under her daughter’s pillow, and behold, in the morning, the tooth was gone and
its place was $2. That was just great. Two dollars is a lot of money for a 2nd
grader. At least it was until, one day Rachel visited a friend of hers. Her
friend was telling how she had put her tooth under her pillow and found $10 the
next morning. Rachel then asked her friend’s mother, ‘Mrs. Kraft, would you
mind doing me a big favor? Would you please call my mom and tell her which
tooth fairy you use?’”
Paul writes that godliness with
contentment is great gain.
But this little girl had lost her contentedness.
Why? Because she had fallen prey to one of the most devious thieves known to
man. A thief that robs more Christians of their joy and satisfaction in life
than many things I know of. It’s one of the traps that Paul hints at when he
says “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap” (I Timothy
6:9)
I. What is this “trap” that can rob us of
contentment? I call it the “envy” trap
Notice, that the little girl had gotten $2 a
tooth. A 2nd grader with $2 in their pocket should be literally in heaven.
That’s a lot of money for a child. But suddenly, that wasn’t enough… why?
Because her friend got $10 for her tooth. NOW $2
was no longer quite enough.
I recently read about South West Airlines.
After the tragedy of September 11th, South West has been THE only big carrier
to still be making money (although they are still making about ½ what they had
last year). All the other airlines are swimming in red ink and have either
declared bankruptcy or are thinking about it – in order to try to avoid their
creditors. So, in an atmosphere where most airlines are struggling to survive,
SW’s employees have relative job security. And yet, some of the workers in one
of its unions is threatening to strike for higher wages. Why? Because
comparable employees in one of those other airlines (that’s failing) make more
per hour than they do.
Does anybody besides me sense the insanity of
that? These union workers were not content, because somebody else (in a failing
and potentially bankrupt airline) was getting more than they did.
Solomon wrote: “And I saw that all labor and all
achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a
chasing after the wind” Ecclesiastes 4:4
Apparently, envy is a driving force in the lives
of many people. It pushes them to be competitive, hard working and successful.
So, you would expect that such a motivation would be a “good thing.” But it’s
not…
Jesus said: “What comes out of a man is what
makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts,
sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness,
envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a
man ‘unclean.’” (Mark 7:20-23)
James wrote: if you harbor bitter envy and
selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such
"wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual,
of the devil. (James 3:14-17)
And Paul warned: The acts of the sinful nature
are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and
witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition,
dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you,
as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of
God. (Galatians 5:19-21)
In other words, envy can make us unclean,
unspiritual & even rob us of our salvation. It is not a desirable trait to
have in our lives.
II. What lies at the heart of envy?
The heart of envy is the belief that we deserve
better than we’ve got.
Jesus told a parable that went like this:
Matthew 20:1-16 "For the kingdom of heaven
is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in
his vineyard.
He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and
sent them into his vineyard. "About the third hour he went out and saw
others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go
and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.
"He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the
same thing.
About the eleventh hour he went out and found
still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here
all day long doing nothing?’ "‘Because no one has hired us,’ they
answered. "He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
"When evening came, the owner of the
vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages,
beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ "The
workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a
denarius.
So when those came who were hired first, they
expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When
they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.
‘These men who were hired last worked only one
hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden
of the work and the heat of the day.’
"But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am
not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?
Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who
was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want
with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ "So the last
will be first, and the first will be last."
Did you catch what made the workers so mad? It
wasn’t FAIR that people who worked less than they did got the same amount of
money that they did.
It didn’t matter that they got what they had been
promised.
It didn’t matter that the money was the
landowner’s to spend however he pleased
Somehow, they DESERVED better, because the other
workers had worked less than they had.
Now, my point is this: when we suffer from envy –
we often don’t realize it. We THINK that we DESERVE, and therefore, whatever we
have to do to get what we DESERVE is somehow justified - whether it is ends up
destroying our friendships, our jobs, or our families. Because its only fair
that we get our fair share.
Envy is one of those terrible sins that sneaks up
on you and you sometimes don’t even know you’ve fallen prey to it.
III. So… how do you and I know if we’ve fallen
INTO the “envy” trap?
Well, you’re in luck, because I’m going to let
you in on THE way to determine if you have the potential of falling prey to
this trap of envy. It may not be that you are completely controlled by an
envious heart, but if the trait we discuss this morning is not in your life,
you might easily become a victim of this sinful behavior.
Proverbs tells us: “A heart at peace gives life
to the body, but envy rots the bones.” (Prov. 14:30)
In other words: if you’re NOT CONTENT – it’s a
sign of envy. You might not be envious of what a neighbor or friend has. It may
be something that’s on the store shelves. Or something you’ve seen on a TV
advertisement or heard about on the radio. Advertisers are most successful if
they can create within you a dissatisfaction with what you have or a great
desire to have more than you have. They are most successful when they have
convinced you that what you have is not enough.
But if you’re not satisfied with what you have,
it is a strong mark of the dangers of envy. Remember, envy arises from comparing
what we have with what others have. And the end result of that type of
comparing is always going to be dissatisfaction.
According to US News and World Report (in
1999),
For Americans with household incomes under
$25,000, it would take $54,000 a year to fulfill the American Dream.
Those who make $100,000+ crave an average of
$192,000 to live as they want.
- In other words, the American Dream usually lies
nearly twice the distance away.
So… if you compare your possessions and financial
status with your neighbor – sooner or later, envy will rob you of happiness.
You’ll ALWAYS WANT MORE than what you have. You will not be content.
So… how content are you? How thankful are you for
what you have?
1. your job
2. your home
3. your family
4. ???
Now, if you say, “yes I’m thankful for my
home…BUT…”
Or, I’m thankful for my husband/ wife… BUT
Or, I’m thankful for my children… BUT
That’s a mark of not being content with what God
has given you. Until you get all of those "Buts" out of your
thinking, you’ll always be a little dissatisfied with what you have. You’ll
never be truly content.
Paul wrote in I Timothy 6:6-8: “Godliness with
contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can
take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content
with that.”
What does Paul say we should be content with?
(food & clothing). And we should be thankful we’ve got that. If that was
all we’d have, that would be sufficient. But in America we’ve got WAY MORE than
that.
William Boice once wrote:
"-- Dear Lord, I have been re-reading the
record of the rich young ruler and his obviously wrong choice. But it has set
me thinking.
No matter how much wealth he had, he could not -
ride in a car,
have any surgery,
turn on a light,
buy penicillin,
hear a pipe organ,
watch TV,
wash dishes in running water,
type a letter,
mow a lawn,
fly in an airplane,
sleep on an innerspring mattress,
or talk on the phone.
if he was rich, then what am I?
The only type of comparison a Christian should do
is comparing how our lives would be like if we didn’t have what we have what
God had supplied to you NOW.
So, how content are you?
Dear Abby received this letter a few years
back
Dear Abby, Happiness is knowing that your parents
won’t almost kill you if you come home a little late. Happiness is having your
own bedroom. Happiness is having parents that trust you. Happiness is getting
the telephone call you’ve been praying for. Happiness is getting good grades
and making your parents who don’t fight. Happiness is knowing that you’re well
dressed as anybody. Happiness is something I don’t have. - 15 and Unhappy
A few days later the Dear Abby newspaper column
carried this response to the above letter from a 13 year old girl:
Dear Abby, Happiness is being able to walk.
Happiness is being able to talk. Happiness is being able to see. Happiness is
being able to hear. Unhappiness is reading a letter from a 15 year old girl who
can do all these things and still says she isn’t happy. I can talk, I can see,
I can hear, but I can’t walk. - Thirteen and Happy.
Americans
have one day a year that they dedicate to being thankful. But for Christians,
every day should be a day of thanksgiving, if only because we have more to be
thankful for than anyone else in the world. For God loved us so much that He
sent His only Son to die for our sins.
