I Corinthians 13:4 “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”
As Paul continues to list the characteristics of “Charity” (love in action, demonstrated by word and deed); he tells us that “charity envieth not”. Envy is a harmful combination of lust, jealousy, greed, and covetousness. Envy is a part of our human nature that must be controlled; for we are Commanded, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.” (Exodus 20:17). Those who envy will eventually become bitter and hateful to those that they envy. The devil knows this and will use it to disturb our peaceful relationships in our families, our Churches, our workplaces, our schools, our government, etc. That is not to say that we should not use our God-given gifts and talents to the best of our ability (Matthew 25:28); but, while we do the best we can with what we have, “Charity” rejoices with those who have more and can do more than we have or can do. Brotherly competition is good, but ill feelings when we are bested is harmful. Envy will eventually try to tear down and harm those that we cannot best. But, “charity” comes alongside and rejoices with those who excel, even when they excel above what we can do. Envy is destructive and has no place in our Lord’s Church or among His people!