Sunday: The Mastery of Jealousy
WEEK 35
SUNDAY
THE MASTERY OF JEALOUSY
Galatians 5:19-21
We come now to consider another mastery that emerged in the Acts—the mastery of jealousy.
Jealousy appeared among the disciples before the coming of the Holy Spirit; there was a dispute among them as to which one was greatest. Jesus dealt with this in amazing clarity. He took the driving urge for greatness and redeemed it—there is a place for ambitious people in the kingdom—“Whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant” (Mark 10:43). The urge for greatness is right now become great by becoming the servant of all. He turned the urge from being egocentric to being other-centric. That saved the urge and the person and made them both contributive.
Then he went on to say, ‘Whoever wants to be first among you will be the slave of all” (v. 44). If you are to be great, you must be a servant of all; but if you are first, you must be the slave of all. The degree of greatness is determined by the degree of self-giving: a servant and you are great, a slave and you are first. Ambition was redeemed by harnessing it to the lifting of others. It was no longer a jostling for position and treading on others in the upward climb; it was a stooping to lift everybody in sight and in the process growing tall yourself as a by-product. This kind of greatness tended to erase the possibility of jealousy; you can’t very well be jealous of a person who doesn’t want anything except to get under everybody in sight and lift them. This method of Jesus is perfect; it redeems the urge for greatness and diminishes the possibility of jealousy as a result of that greatness.
That is why jealousy dropped out of the relationships of these Christians. They weren’t suppressing it; they just didn’t feel it, for they were out to serve everybody from the lowest to the highest. That principle and practice would eliminate jealousy from any society and from any heart to the degree that it is put in operation.
O Jesus Master, you told us how to be great and showed us the way; you obeyed your precepts, and we are, as a result, at your feet. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: I am the servant of all; therefore, there is no reason for jealousy within me.