Do you ever find yourself being jealous of someone's material blessings? What about their spiritual blessings? I fall into the latter category. Every time I listen to a preacher, I wish I could be more like him. I wish I had half the knowledge of Clarence Deloach, I wish I could enter the pulpit with my entire sermon memorized like Larry Acuff. I see the plethora of resources that we have at Willow Avenue and I wish we could have all of them at Chestnut Mound. I will admit that on some occasions I've allowed the devil to try to creep in and make me think privately "why do all these other men, and these larger congregations have all these talents and resources and here I am and here are all these smaller congregations that are not as blessed." Friends, the devil is real and he wants you to question your entire purpose on this earth. He wants you to get into competitions with others in the brotherhood. Why? Because he wants to divide us. This instance of the devil trying to take me in has opened my eyes and reinforced a few things that I have always known, but are good to remind ourselves.
1. We are all trying to get to the same place. Friends, what is the ultimate goal in our lives? For all of you reading this, I hope that it is to spend eternity with God in Heaven. The biggest thing that will derail this goal is division in the brotherhood. We can become divided over doctrine, finances, membership, leadership, and even the temperature of the building. Friends, these things are important, but we cannot allow them to cause divisions. In 1 Corinthians 1:10, the apostle Paul tells us "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement." Paul commands the church at Corinth, just like he tells the churches today to be united over everything that the Bible says. As leaders and members in the church, we should also be united and on the same page when it comes to church business. When we get to Heaven, there is not going to be separate rooms for Chestnut Mound, Willow Avenue, or any other congregation. Instead we will all be there together and "what a day that will be!!"
2. Being jealous has never ended well for anyone. Think about all the murders that have occurred because husband was jealous of wife, or vice versa, one person ends up dead and one ends up in prison. Sounds like every western movie you've ever watched right? Or every story that's on the evening news? Perhaps the greatest case of jealousy in the Bible occurs between brothers Cain and Abel. In Genesis chapter 4, we are told of the relationship between Cain and Abel. They were the first children. Cain was a "tiller of the ground" and Abel was a "keeper of the sheep." The two brothers brought offerings to the Lord. Cain brought the "fruit of the ground" and Abel brought the "firstborn of his flock and of their fat." The Lord blessed Abel and accepted his offering, whereas He rejected Cain's offering. This caused Cain to grow angry against his brother, and this anger and jealousy led Cain to murder Abel. Cain was punished by becoming a fugitive and vagabond. I don't know how or why someone could be jealous of another person after reading that account. Jealousy leads to anger, anger leads to us going out of our mind, which leads to us doing something that will have everlasting consequences. Next time you are tempted to be jealous of someone's spiritual or physical blessings, remember what happened between Cain and Abel. Jealousy is not the recipe to get to Heaven.
We all want to be blessed both spiritually and physically. However, when we allow ourselves to covet what others have then we will get into trouble. Instead of saying "I really want the knowledge that the preacher, elder, Bible class teacher, or older member has," instead say "I really want to learn more about the Bible so that one day I can have as much knowledge as the preacher, elder, Bible class teacher, or older member has." When it comes to physical blessings, instead of saying "I really want Mr. or Mrs. so and so's car or house," instead say "You really have a nice car or house, maybe I'll be blessed enough to have something like that one day." As a preacher, I have to remember that I am not competing with other congregations in the brotherhood for souls, and when the devil creeps in and tries to tell me otherwise I have to remember Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 1:10. We are all trying to get to the same place. If we allow divisions to creep in to our congregations, then we won't get there. I challenge everyone reading this to encourage and pray for one another. Enjoy fellowship with members of other congregations and remember that we are not in a competition. Each congregation has its own strengths and weaknesses, and it's our job as members to build and improve upon both.
In Him,
Carver Moore
We would be honored for you to join us for worship at the Chestnut Mound church of Christ.
Our service times are as follows:
Sunday Morning Bible study: 10 am
Sunday morning worship: 11 am
Sunday evening worship: 5 pm
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