SEVEN DEADLY SINS “What is Envy/Jealousy” (Proverbs 14:30) OPENING Originally different founding fathers of the church began classifying sins under these seven different headings. Our first one is envy and its companion jealously. I. ENVY DESTROYS YOU 1. We get jealous or envious over all kinds of things. -We want what others have or we want to have things others don't. 2. We get jealous in church too. -Church members get worried that if the church grows, they will lose their influence. -Members envy other member’s attention, ministries, and relationships. -Pastors deal with it too. 3. Envy and jealousy allow others to gain power over you. -Envy comes steals your focus from what you freely have and punishes you to desire what God has allowed another. II. ENVY DESTROYS OTHERS 1. When you bear a jealous spirit, no one wants to be around you. 2. Here's the basic pattern of destruction of envy: -Someone else has something you want or desire -You become dissatisfied with what you have -The root of this sin is the belief that what God has given you isn't enough. -To make things fair and just in your eyes, you lash out. III. ENVY LEADS TO JUDGMENT 1. No matter how successful someone else may be or how attractive what they have may appear, God says in the end it is the righteous that are rewarded 2. Envy is a matter of what we believe--do we trust the Lord's plan for our life? Do we trust His eternal reward is worth the wait? .