Rid it out of His temple. Abandon the place where it dwells. Escape from the lure of its influence. Stay away from its evil. Envy is evil. Envy generates no fruit. Envy creates nothing new. Envy eradicates life. Envy kills the spirit. Envy obliterates love.

“For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.” James 3:16

You cannot coexist with envy and expect success. You cannot coexist wtih envy and expect order. Chaos, rudeness, and anarchy typify the spaces where envy dwells. Flee from those spaces.

Contentment in life comes from being content in God.

I want God’s satisfaction not anyone else’s satisfaction. You flourish with contentment deep down in your heart when you look to God to fill you, instead of expecting others to be your well.

How do you exterminate the pest of envy?

You love selflessly and extravagantly. God’s selfless love speaks powerfully. Selfless love breaks the norm and inaugurates the Kingdom of Heaven’s love. God loves generously without restraint and without expectations of getting anything in return.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters.” Psalm 23:1

You will not want anything but what God gave you access to when you live with contentment.

King David understands contentment. He understands selfless love. He experienced selfless love from God from the time he was a boy. Then, as he encountered the selfless love of God over and over again, it influenced his own heart in such a way that he wanted to love everyone around himm even Saul, the one who envied him.

In 1 Samuel 18, the Bible speaks of the effects of Saul’s envy of David.

“Then Saul became very angry. This saying did not please him. He said, “They have given David honor for ten thousands, but for me only thousands. Now what more can he have but to be king?” 1 Samuel 18:8

King Saul’s envy led to his own ruin and inability to connect with David.

“And Saul was jealous and did not trust David from that day on.” 1 Samuel 18:9

Envy eats trust.

Envy stirs discord. Those who carry envy in their hearts don’t trust others. They want all the power. They cannot give credit to anyone but theirselves. Micromanagement ensues. Corruption ensues.

Envy is more than a characteristic of a person. Envy is a matter of the spirit. Envy is a contagion of evil, which means it stems from the devil where evil spirits dwell. We all live in a world where spiritual warfare is all around us and we must fight against evil by the Spirit of truth.

When we understand envy is a spiritual problem, not a personal problem, we can pray for God to remove that spirit. Envy does not have to ruin a person. If you are struggling with envy, then submit your spirit to God and repent of that. Ask God to eradicate that spirit out of you and give you a spirit of holiness, because envy will eat you alive. You cannot let that fester and you cannot connect with God, either, when you have envy polluting your spiritual health. Envy is a cancer of the spirit world and we need spiritual warfare tactics to demolish it.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:10-12

Stand your ground against evil spirits. Do not let them into your heart. Repent of any evil spirit and let God wash you with His pure and holy spirit. Put on the armor of God so that you can be defended from evil tactics. Resist the devil and he will flee from you, as James 4:7 says, so that your heart can maintain its purity and spiritual fruits of the Lord.

Your spirit is important.

Cultivate a spirit connection with Jesus and you receive His spirit.

King Saul’s envy problem was a spiritual problem that stems from his deliberate rejection of God’s commands. He would not repent. He continued to harass David and negelct his power. Thus, God made a decision to hand Saul over to his evil spirit because he denied God. Don’t let God give you over to your evil desires. Romans 1 says he will if a person refuses to repent. Paul says God gave them over to their evil desires and to a depraved mind in Romans 1:24,28 because of refusal to acknowledge God and repent of their sin. Envy is sin. It must be repented of in order to remove it.

King Saul never repented of envy and, thus, God gave him over to that evil spirit.

“The next day a bad spirit sent from God came upon Saul with power. He acted like a crazy man in his house, while David was playing the harp. Saul had a spear in his hand, and he threw the spear, thinking, “I will nail David to the wall.” But David jumped out of his way twice.  Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had left Saul.” 1 Samuel 18:10-12

King Saul could not celebrate anyone else’s success but His own. This generates caused his own demise because he no longer carried God’s spirit. The Lord was “with David” but the Lord “left Saul.” Why? Saul decided that when he decided he did not want to repent of envy and choose selflessness.

Selflessness is the fruit of God’s spirit. Envy is the result of the devil’s spirit.

We learn from King Saul that envy negatively affects a person’s overall wellbeing and productivity.

Envy will kill your mantle if you let it.

Envy dethrones you from your position.

Envy kills your influence.

Envy ruins your state of mind.

Envy breaks up your relationships.

“Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.” Proverbs 10:12

King Saul had no fellowship with David because of His envy over David. He could have learned from David and used him in the kingdom but he neglected that because of his own insecurities making him feel inadequate in the presence of David.

Insecurity ruins collaboration.

Insecurity stunts the growth of your organization, business, workplace, etc.

Godly leaders lead with genuine love and affirmation.

Godly leaders look to make everybody around them great.

“Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” John 14:12

Jesus said we would do greater works than Him! He is not scared to give us more power. He is not intimidated by our strengths and wisdom and insight and accomplishments. He gave us that! He equipped us to be great!

Jesus empowers you to be great so the world is transformed.

King David chose to lead with genuine love.

King David fled from envy in his heart.

King David dwelt on contentment. He kindled satisfaction. Why? Because David dealt with the negative effects of envy trying to kill him for years, through King Saul. Saul gunned for David’s anointing. Saul wanted to destroy him. But nothing can take away God’s anointing over a person.

Your anointing is permanent. Nobody else’s envy of you can take it from you. With those who have been untrusted with much, much is expected. When you are entrusted with the anointing of the Lord, you are meant to bless other people. Guard your heart from envy by celebrating others and truly loving them, with a pure heart that stems from your intimate relationship with Jesus.

Jesus makes a heart pure.

Jesus is not envious.

Jesus is a lover.

Love does not envy. It’s impossible.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” 1 Corinthians 13:4

Love’s natural response is love. There is no room for envy because its complete and total essence is comprised of pure substance, which envy cannot share in. God’s love is pure and He seeks to strength you and elevate you. To love you and bless you. To challenge you and grow you. To be with you and dwell with you. God never aims to destroy you nor fight with you over power. He patiently waits for everyone who seeks Him so that He can redeem each with salvation who chooses to make Him Lord.

Envy dies in the presence of love’s sunshine. Negative cancers of the evil spirits flee in the oasis where the Holy Spirit dwells. You host the Holy Spirit IN YOUR HEART! So, let the Holy Spirit produce fruits in you that last and empower everyone around you to flourish. Galatians 5:22-25 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”

Your dreams are found in Jesus’ love for you. Your destiny is found in Jesus’ purpose for you. Our lives and all its glories are found in Jesus’ journey with us, as we walk with Him everyday. Jesus is pleased with you, beloved child of God, who seeks Him. Be satisfied in His presence and contented in the love from His heart to yours.

“O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness,
That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”

Psalm 90:14