On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him. (Acts 13:44-45)
The mission team of Paul and Barnabas came to Antioch in Pisidia. They entered the Jewish synagogue on the Sabbath and the leaders of the synagogue invited them to encourage the crowd. Paul stood up and preached the Word of God. The crowd was attracted by their preaching of the Scriptures, so Paul and Barnabas were invited to preach to them the next Sabbath.
The content of Paul's preaching in the Jewish synagogue was quickly passed on to others who weren’t present. So that on the next Sabbath, almost all the people in the city came to hear Paul’s preaching. But when the Jewish leaders saw so many people coming to hear Paul's preaching, they were full of jealousy because of the attention he was getting. Out of jealousy, they were hostile to Paul, contradicted his words in front of everyone to embarrass him and keep him from speaking. Why did the Jews contradict Paul? After all, their rebuttal was unjustified. What Paul said was correct and could not be refuted, so instead, they slandered him.
Because of their jealousy, the Jewish religious leaders continued to speak ill of Paul. In fact, Jesus also experienced similar incidents among Jewish religious leaders. When Jesus drove out a ghost from a mute body and made him speak, the Pharisees also said Jesus drove out the demon by the prince of demons. (cf. Matt 9: 32-34).
Defamation because of jealousy is also common in today's society. Either you may be jealous of others, have slandered others, or others may be envious of you and have maligned you.
This problem also exists in the church and is a result of people standing in judgement of others. Jealousy causes one to falsely judge others and leads to disunity. Jealousy creates disputes among people and can cause serious divisions in the church.
A lack of unity and condemnation of others among fellow workers in the church is often a result of jealousy. Because gifts are given by the Holy Spirit as he wishes, so some people may have more gifts, and some with fewer gifts will inevitably envy them with a mentality that can be unbalanced. If you have a heart filled with jealousy, you may see those who have obvious gifts and see if you can find some of their faults. Over time you may make judgements against them in an attempt to ruin their reputation.
The Bible refers to jealousy as a sin, and it stems from pride which is the source of many sins. Jealousy is not so simple as a single sin, but it will produce a series of sinful acts, such as defamation, conflict and disunity. If jealousy creates a split in the church, it becomes a sin with even greater consequences.
Therefore, as a Christian, you must not be jealous of others but should learn to appreciate, affirm and encourage others. To keep jealous hearts away from yourself, you can ask God to remove the old self, and constantly shape your life to become more like Christ.
(Note: The author of this article is a co-worker of a grassroots church in Fujian)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
使徒行传灵修系列：远离嫉妒的心
到下安息日，合城的人几乎都来聚集，要听神的道。但犹太人看见人这样多，就满心嫉妒，硬驳保罗所说的话，并且毁谤。（使徒行传13:44-45）
保罗与和巴拿巴这支宣教团队来到彼西底的安提阿，他们在安息日的时候进入犹太会堂中，管会堂的邀请他们劝勉众人，保罗就站起来与众人传讲神的道。众人被神的道所吸引，为此邀请保罗与巴拿巴二人在下个安息日继续与他们讲论神的道。
保罗在犹太人会堂的讲道内容很快被众人传递出去，以致于到下一个安息日的时候几乎全城的人都来听保罗传讲神的道。但是犹太人看见这么多人来听保罗讲道，难免就会产生对比，这一对比就满心嫉妒。当犹太人对保罗产生嫉妒的心时，就敌视保罗，当着众人的面硬驳保罗所说的话，目的就是要保罗说不下去，让他难堪。硬驳这个词，反而说明犹太人的反驳是毫无道理的，保罗所说的是正确的，硬驳不了，又毁谤保罗。
犹太人因为嫉妒保罗，所以才去毁谤保罗，其实耶稣在犹太人中间也经历过类似的事件。当耶稣把一个哑巴身上的鬼赶出去，使他开口说话，法利赛人也是因为嫉妒的缘故，就毁谤耶稣是靠着鬼王赶鬼（参 太9:32-34）。因为嫉妒，而产生毁谤的事，在现今这个社会中也屡见不鲜。要么嫉妒过他人，毁谤他人，要么被他人嫉妒，然后被他人毁谤。
这种问题其实也同样存在教会当中，在教会中一般称这种行为是“论断”。因为嫉妒产生论断，导致不合一、纷争比比皆是，严重的甚至导致教会分裂。
教会当中最容易出现的不合一，互相论断的现象就是同工与同工之间，而且往往也是因为嫉妒的缘故。这个嫉妒大多数都是因为恩赐的缘故，因为恩赐是圣灵随己意赐给人的，所以有些人的恩赐会多一些。对此，有些恩赐较少的同工难免就会因此产生不平衡的心理。这种嫉妒心理的出现，会让你处处看那些恩赐明显的人不顺眼，久而久之就会产生论断诋毁对方的事。
嫉妒在圣经中本身就是一种罪，因为嫉妒的背后是骄傲，骄傲又是许多罪的源头，同样也是嫉妒的源头。而且嫉妒不仅仅是单一的罪那么简单，这个罪会产生一些列的罪。由嫉妒所产生的论断毁谤也是罪，导致纷争不合一也都是罪，若是出现教会分裂的事，那更是罪。
所以作为基督徒切不可嫉妒他人，要学会欣赏他人，肯定他人，鼓励他人。要让嫉妒的心远离自己，就必须求神挪走我们里面的老我，不断的塑造我们生命，使我们的生命更像基督。
（注：本文作者为福建一基层教会同工）
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him. (Acts 13:44-45)
The mission team of Paul and Barnabas came to Antioch in Pisidia. They entered the Jewish synagogue on the Sabbath and the leaders of the synagogue invited them to encourage the crowd. Paul stood up and preached the Word of God. The crowd was attracted by their preaching of the Scriptures, so Paul and Barnabas were invited to preach to them the next Sabbath.
The content of Paul's preaching in the Jewish synagogue was quickly passed on to others who weren’t present. So that on the next Sabbath, almost all the people in the city came to hear Paul’s preaching. But when the Jewish leaders saw so many people coming to hear Paul's preaching, they were full of jealousy because of the attention he was getting. Out of jealousy, they were hostile to Paul, contradicted his words in front of everyone to embarrass him and keep him from speaking. Why did the Jews contradict Paul? After all, their rebuttal was unjustified. What Paul said was correct and could not be refuted, so instead, they slandered him.
Because of their jealousy, the Jewish religious leaders continued to speak ill of Paul. In fact, Jesus also experienced similar incidents among Jewish religious leaders. When Jesus drove out a ghost from a mute body and made him speak, the Pharisees also said Jesus drove out the demon by the prince of demons. (cf. Matt 9: 32-34).
Defamation because of jealousy is also common in today's society. Either you may be jealous of others, have slandered others, or others may be envious of you and have maligned you.
This problem also exists in the church and is a result of people standing in judgement of others. Jealousy causes one to falsely judge others and leads to disunity. Jealousy creates disputes among people and can cause serious divisions in the church.
A lack of unity and condemnation of others among fellow workers in the church is often a result of jealousy. Because gifts are given by the Holy Spirit as he wishes, so some people may have more gifts, and some with fewer gifts will inevitably envy them with a mentality that can be unbalanced. If you have a heart filled with jealousy, you may see those who have obvious gifts and see if you can find some of their faults. Over time you may make judgements against them in an attempt to ruin their reputation.
The Bible refers to jealousy as a sin, and it stems from pride which is the source of many sins. Jealousy is not so simple as a single sin, but it will produce a series of sinful acts, such as defamation, conflict and disunity. If jealousy creates a split in the church, it becomes a sin with even greater consequences.
Therefore, as a Christian, you must not be jealous of others but should learn to appreciate, affirm and encourage others. To keep jealous hearts away from yourself, you can ask God to remove the old self, and constantly shape your life to become more like Christ.
(Note: The author of this article is a co-worker of a grassroots church in Fujian)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Devotional Series from Acts: Steer Clear of Jealousy
