Home
>
Spirituality
>
Mankinds Ten Worst Enemies: #3 Jealousy

Mankinds Ten Worst Enemies: #3 Jealousy

Though closely akin and sometimes used synonymously, John Rawls distinguish between jealousy and envy on the ground that jealousy involves the wish to keep what one has, and envy the wish to get what one does not have.

Christine Harris, American Scientist Magazine, makes the claim that "Of the human emotions, jealousy is one of the most powerful and painful. And it is deadly: Statistical studies rank jealousy as the third most common motive for murder." Certainly, it was for Abel, Cain's brother.

If we meditate upon Cain to try and understand the reason for his digressing to murder, we come to realize that it is the same old tendency we have to look outside ourselves for the cause of our shortcomings. Abel's offering was accepted by God but Cain's was not. In his mind, Abel was accepted and he was rejected and thus, jealousy emerged in response to his distorted perception that he had lost his place with God. Of course, we know that God rejected his offering and not the person, but Cain concocted in his own mind, that God disowned him.

It is interesting to note that Cain did not make any inquiries regarding the reason for his offering being rejected. He did not make any offers to rectify the situation. He offers no apology and makes no excuses. Why, because he is not interested in the problem of his offering. He just flies into a jealous rage and kills Abel.

There are many Cains committing murderous crimes against their brothers and sisters today. Domestic violence continues to escalate because of disordered thinking. We blatantly refuse to face up to our own imperfections, our own weaknesses, our own failings and disabilities. And so, like Cain we substitute truth and self-admonition for falsehoods and other condemnation. We perceive ourselves as unacceptable. We lack the talent or gifts God did not give to us but did give to our brother or sister. We become jealous of the Abels. The Abels seem to be winners; things seem to work out for them, everything they touch turns to gold. The Abels are successful and bright. Success seems to come naturally to them and others gravitate towards them. They seem to be God's favorites and because of their acceptance, the Cains, succumbing to jealousy and envy, devise their psychological hit list. The Abels must go.

Jealousy in this context is the mental and emotional wrestling with the abilities of other people, the capabilities of other people; and the adoration, the affection given to those people from others. Those two nemeses hang out like bosom buddies side by side and when they put their ugly heads together, stir up the jealousy that builds into a kind of hatred that lead ultimately to murder.

It is incumbent upon all of us to acknowledge and accept the gifts God has given us. God has equipped us with everything we need to accomplish His will for our lives. If he did not give us certain talents, we do not need them to perform the job He has assigned to us. We need to stop looking at other people and what they can do and look at God and what we can do in His power.

Jealous can be a lethal passion. It magnifies trifles and increases doubt and suspicion. "Jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame." Song of Solomon 8:6. The Psalmist asked, "Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?" Proverbs 27:4.

There is a fable that tells of a time when the Devil once was crossing the Libyan Desert and met a group of friends tempting a holy hermit. They tried seductions of the flesh, used doubts and fears and so forth, to no avail. The holy man was unmoved. The Devil then stepped forward: Your methods are too crude. Permit me one moment." Going to the hermit, he said, "Have you heard the news? Your brother has been made the Bishop of Alexandria." According to the fable, a scowl of malignant jealousy clouded the serene face of the holy man.

Never lose sight of the fact that, "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." 1 John 4:4. We pray that God strengthen us against the power of jealousy. Let us so love the Lord with all of our hearts, souls and minds that no unholy emotion subdues the Spirit within.

Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach which can be reviewed on her site. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, is expected to be available soon.

You are welcome to visit amen ministries: your soul's service station for reviewing spiritual services being offered, obtain spiritual refreshing and soul edification, browse our newly expanded Stop & Shop Mini Mall or review our recommended books you may want to add to your personal library.

Blessings to all!

bathroom cleaning service Morton Grove ...

In The News:

A clean credit report doesn't mean your identity is safe. Six ways criminals can steal from you without triggering a credit monitoring alert.

Carolyn Marvin, a 78-year-old retired professor, was arrested after blocking an Uber Eats delivery robot on a Philadelphia sidewalk for months.

The Midnight Mimosa malware campaign hides inside cheap Android phone firmware, giving attackers powerful access before owners even turn devices on.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Meta's Muse AI was built to manage tasks, but users are developing romantic AI relationships and even calling the AI companion their girlfriend.

A Minnesota murder suspect's notebook listed 11 people search websites, raising urgent questions about data broker opt-out and online privacy risks.

Google Universal Cart tracks price drops, surfaces promo codes and uses Google Wallet to match your best credit card rewards before checkout.

Safari's Notify Me feature and Google's price-tracking tools can monitor products and send alerts when prices drop on your iPhone or Android.

George Weiner built PACspam.org to trace who sends nonstop political fundraising texts after blocking numbers repeatedly failed to stop the messages.

A dedicated VPN IP address may reduce frustrating CAPTCHAs and bank login security checks by giving websites a consistent connection to recognize.

Apple Wallet in iOS 27 lets you create digital passes from physical cards using a photo or screenshot, but not every card in your wallet qualifies.

Anthropic's Claude AI submitted a fabricated eyewitness tip about an unsolved murder to a Philadelphia police website during automated testing.

P7 DarkSword iPhone spyware can steal saved passwords, photos, Apple Notes and cryptocurrency wallet data by checking for commands every 15 seconds.

Cybersecurity experts told Fox News Digital that a cyberattack on French supermarket freezers should warn the U.S. about critical infrastructure gaps.

The Oracle Health breach exposed medical records, Social Security numbers and diagnoses of nearly 20 million patients across multiple states.

The new Tesla Roadster drove upside down and launched into the air at SpaceX's Texas facility, but a 2028 production target remains unconfirmed.

Apple's iOS 27 lets you add keywords to iPhone photos, while Samsung Gallery tags and Google Photos search offer similar organization tools.

A fake Claude AI download scam uses Google ads, and Bing redirects to trick Mac users into pasting a hidden malicious command in their Terminal.

Ahold Delhaize's cybersecurity incident knocked online ordering and digital coupons offline at Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Hannaford and Giant Food stores.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Amazon's About You feature includes personality details from your shopping history, and some shoppers are finding hilariously awkward results.

Identity theft recovery starts with securing bank accounts, freezing credit and enabling two-factor authentication within the first 24 hours.

Apple's $299 HomeView smart display uses facial recognition to personalize screens for up to six household members and show live security camera feeds.

Domonique DuBose spotted red flags when a man on Hinge with 85,000 followers and a blue checkmark claimed to be a San Francisco 49ers player.

Your phone's location data can expose visits to doctors, pharmacies and places of worship. The FTC took action against data brokers selling this data.

Mankinds Ten Worst Enemies: #3 Jealousy

Spirituality