Philippians 1:15-17
“Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from goodwill; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking that they are causing me distress in my imprisonment.”
Some were jealous of Paul. They had impure motives. They wanted the respect of the people and the crowds. They may have wanted a church full of adoring people. It’s not wrong to be blessed with the respect of others over hard work. But there’s a line that if crossed it becomes wrong.
What’s an example of when were crossing the line? We will sense wrong emotions and not seek to dispel them. Jealousy is one. If we are jealous and aren’t praying for God to help us grow beyond it. There are circumstances prompting the jealousy. They are increasing our stress. Practice the godly response. Rejoice that our brother is experiencing blessing. We are on the same team; the kingdom is growing. Thank You, God.
Practice contentment. Experiencing jealousy means we aren’t content with our present circumstances. Paul says in Philippians 4:11, 12 “Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need”. God allows us to experience all sorts of circumstances. Some of the reason is to purge bad attitudes from us. Go with it. God’s got us and our circumstances. Praise Him.
We are all capable of going down the wrong path. Just yield to the dark side. It doesn’t mean we’re going to hell. We are taking a time wasting tangent. We learn that God knows what He’s doing. We stress less. “I wanted to do this, but it’s not working out. God’s got something better.”
David and Saul are great examples of people responding to disappointing circumstances. Saul was jealous of David. Instead of yielding it to the Lord, he sought to kill David. David was presented with an opportunity to be rid of his pursuer, Saul. It happened twice. But David felt it was wrong. His men didn’t get it. He didn’t let peer pressure get to him. He used it as an opportunity to tell Saul that he meant him no harm. Here’s Saul’s response in I Samuel 24:16-18, ‘When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” Then Saul raised his voice and wept. And he said to David, “You are more righteous than I; for you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt maliciously with you. You have declared today that you have done good to me, that the LORD handed me over to you and yet you did not kill me.’ Out of his own mouth, Saul speaks it. That’s a good day for David and his men. He took the high road.
God works on our hearts. Very few know what’s on our insides. We could fool many of our impure motives. God does quality work. He not only changes our actions, but works on our hearts. He values genuineness. We are on the inside what people see on the outside. That’s integrity.
Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Like an inspector puts his number on an item insuring quality, so we are God’s work. He does good work.
Part of the process is learning patience. Rarely do things happen when we want them to. The one who learned this lesson wonders what God’s got in store when they hit road blocks or delays. He’ll work it out somehow. That’s faith. It’s even of a higher quality when one can praise God in these moments.
He will often adjust our dreams. This usually means if we got what we wanted, we would be stressed out, as it wouldn’t be a good fit. I thank the Lord that some dreams weren’t realized. However, at the moment I was disappointed.
Thank You, Lord, that You are working in us. You don’t give us what we want as it would not be a good fit. You work through those disappointments. You purify our motives. You turn our envy into patient contentment. Amazing. Thank You, Lord.