Is Your Eye Evil?

Mat 20:15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?'

My good friend was very excited, I could tell. The local golf pro had called him to play in the Chamber golf outing at the premier course in Northern Michigan. So he got to play in a four man scramble, at a great course with lots of prizes all for free. He was thrilled.

You would think, being my friend that I would have been happy for him. So why was it that part of me was upset? Disgusted even? The reason was that he was getting to do all this and I wasn’t. What is it about human beings who envy and are get jealous when good things happen to people? Even people that we like?

I already answered the question. We are envious and jealous. This is a fruit of our sinful natures. Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like...

In Matthew 20, Jesus is telling a parable about people who agreed to work a full day for a certain wage. The farmer hired some people later on throughout the day and at pay time, paid everyone the same. Our natural human nature says, “That’s not fair!”

Jesus uses the parable to teach us to delight in the goodness of God in having much grace. The new nature should have produced excitement in me for my friend. Upon thinking of this Scripture and recognizing the conflict, I was able to see my envy for what it was, confess it and truly begin to share in my friends joy.

Sin is out to destroy our lives and make us miserable. Jesus has come that we might have life and that we might have it more abundantly.