Where Jealousy and Selfish Ambition Exist
James 3:16 A focus on kindness and charity bears productive fruit.
“For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.”
James 3:16 NASB1995
When God pointed me toward jealousy as a topic for a devotional today, the first thing that popped into my head was not this verse by James (which should have been foremost!), but a line from Shakespeare’s Othello (Act 3, Scene 3, Iago speaking):
O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on.
The green-eyed monster? A cat (hence the picture above), tormenting its prey before devouring it. Shakespeare saw that jealousy tormented the mind of a jealous man with a laundry list of suspicions before consuming him completely.
James, and (much later) Shakespeare, surmised that “jealousy and selfish ambition” were the cause of “disorder and every evil thing”. Those who are jealous and self-seeking deceive others and themselves about their wisdom, which has only this life in view, has for its focus the gratification of passions, and is demon-inspired.
Being driven by this earthly wisdom might result in accomplishing something, but will always end up causing confusion, disorder, and “evil things”. To avoid this sad conclusion, a focus on kindness and charity rather than jealousy, envy, and greed bears productive fruit!
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Our Father in Heaven, I thank You that Jesus is the power and wisdom of God, and that in Him is no disorder or evil. The enemy wants to ensnare us in a web of lies, fear and doubt, but focusing on Jesus alone helps me to resist the devil. I pray daily for Your guidance and mercy as I navigate this evil world. AMEN.