It's taken a long time to gather my thoughts for this one. It didn't appear to be enough to write about. After Paul writes about the essence of agape love, he just seems to make a list of what agape love is not. The first of those is this: Love does not envy.
This seems to leave more questions than it answers. Love does not envy. Love does not envy. Hmmm.
Remember, agape love is a model of God's perfect, unconditional love for us. It is not romantic, nor is it contingent on how God feels that day (Amen). It is love without boundaries or requisites. Thus, when we compare envy with agape love, it is easy to see how one cannot exist within the other. Just as a Holy God cannot tolerate sin; agape love cannot tolerate envy. It is not in its nature.
Envy, brothers and sisters is a terrible thing. In this society we are all covetous, envious wretches and we must repent of our sinfulness daily. The consumer culture in the United States has turned even the most loving Christians into envious beasts. Or maybe, I'm just talking about myself. How many times a day do we think to ourselves: I wish I had his/her (fill in the blank). Or, we could think, If I just had a (fill in the blank) like (fill in the blank) I would be so much better off.
That, brothers and sisters is the essence of envy. It begins by perceiving something that someone else has as good and attempting to apply the idea of that good thing to our lives. It begins as a simple thought. We can be envious about anything. We can envy someones money, talent, material goods, good looks, body shape, etc. But it goes deeper. We can envy someones husband, wife, or children (c'mon parents, you know you've seen other kids and wished yours would behave that way). You can even envy someones relationship with their husband, wife, or children. I've even heard people envious of someones positive attitude.
Envy leads to many dangerous things. An extra-marital affair begins because we envy someones relationship. A scam to steal from work to supplement your income begins because we envy our neighbors new car. A chasm develops between a parent and a child because the parent has said one too many times--why can't you be like your friend so and so. And those things are just the tip of envy's iceberg.
What is the biggest, ugliest, meanest, thing about envy? Brothers and sisters, when we envy, we tell God that He has not done enough for us. We say to God that He has not blessed us enough and we want more. We tell an all-powerful God who has a perfect plan for our lives that He has not given us what we deserve! Brothers and sisters, the wages of sin are death---we really don't want what we deserve.
Envy does not allow us to participate fully in loving our brothers and sisters. Because we are fallen, we cannot love each other unless we have the love of God in us. That love cannot flow freely if we are full of sinful envy. What envy translates to is ungratefulness. When we envy we tell God that we are not happy with what he has done.
Brothers and sisters the next time you are getting into your beat up car, and you see that heathen getting into a sleek, pretty, 2018 Watchamacallit, praise God. Praise God that you have all you need in the blood of the lamb. Remember, this world is passing away and all that is in it. Why put value on anything that is in this world? Our real treasure is incorruptible and eternal!
Next time: Love is not jealous.
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