For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.–James 3:16 Everyone has heard that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” As healthful as that advice may be, a new apple on the market is adding a strange twist to that timely saying. A food company in New Zealand has brought a new hybrid apple to market they are calling “Envy.”
While jealousy is used mostly in its positive sense in Scripture, envy gets plenty of well-deserved warnings. Envy is listed along with murders, drunkenness, revelries, strife, reviling, malice, hatefulness, bitterness, confusion, and self-seeking–not a healthy crowd to run with. Self-seeking pretty much describes the heart of envy: I want what you have–your possessions, your popularity, your power, your personality–and I’ll do what it takes to get them. That’s how envy becomes divisive and destructive in relationships. Envy and the negative kind of jealousy focus on “me” instead of “thee.” It’s no wonder that Peter says to lay envy aside (1 Peter 2:1).
If you decide to make a habit out of envy, make sure it’s the new apple “Envy,” not the envy that’s the first-cousin of jealousy. The former will provide health for your body while the latter is spiritual poison for your soul. (From Turning Point)
Every time you turn green with envy you are ripe for trouble.
Unknown
