Some people may wonder: 'What does the Bible say about overcoming jealousy?' Let us explore the answer to this pressing question. In order to battle jealousy, the root causes must be discerned. Jealousy typically grows out of insecurity, fear, deception, or covetousness. The Bible addresses these roots of jealousy several times.
Personal insecurity can breed a host of jealous strife. Often times, we base our security on the opinion, affirmation, and acceptance of other people. When we feel rejected or unloved we become dangerously insecure leading us to perceive the strengths of other people as threats to our own well being.
To biblically battle the impediment of insecurity we must turn to God through His Word to tell us once again of His unfailing love and acceptance. Completing this task will take active engagement in the battle through research, reflection, and prayer.
Jealousy is the outburst of impassioned feelings over the need to possess and control someone else. The emotion of jealousy suggests an exaggerated egoism, a readiness to infer the worst concerning another, a disposition to interpret trifles ungenerously, to begrudge the success of friends and to taste a secret satisfaction in their failure.
Jealousy is clearly a destructive emotion and has traditionally been referred to as one of the “seven deadly sins.”
Jealousy has its roots in feelings of inadequacy, self-doubt, low self esteem, lack of security in relationships and fear of losing affection and support of another. A perception that the distribution of power is uneven in a relationship is often the culprit in jealousy.
Jealousy tends to be more prominent in men than in women, particularly if the male desires power, title and position. Women, on the other hand, are vulnerable to jealousy because of the desire to gain security through performance and acceptance by others and the emphasis placed on health and beauty in our culture.
Many men and women believe the myth that if you love someone you will be jealous.
- Jealousy becomes a problem, when it interferes with the health of a relationship or otherwise prevents a person from successfully functioning. Jealousy can wreck marriages, homes and lives because it is often expressed with verbal cruelty; physical violence; long sieges of paranoid, suspicious behavior; crimes of passion; and even murder
