Jealousy quenches the Spirit

Jealousy quenches the Spirit. Jealousy kills. Jealousy steals. Jealousy destroys.

You know what else does these things? Satan. John 10:10 says so.

Jealousy is a direct tool of the devil. Jealousy is all over the Bible and it seems that it is always present when the Spirit is moving well. Some examples that came to mind immediately for me were Cain and Abel, Joseph and his brothers, Rachel and Leah, and the older brother of the prodgial son. All of these situations were different, but envy was the root of the evil that occured in all of them. Cain killed Abel. Joseph was sold into slavery. Leah and Rachel were constantly trying to one-up each other to win the attention and affection of Jacob. The older brother of the prodigal son was mad that his dad had a celebration for the return of his brother because he felt he didn't deserve it.

A less obvious and therefore less popular, instance of jealousy takes place in Acts 17. We know Paul and Silas spent some time in prison for preaching the gospel. In Acts 17, they have just gotten out of prison and are in Thessalonica, and it says they have preached the gospel and people joined them, some of them were Jews, but a large amount of them were Greeks as well as a good number of prominent women. (17:4) So, we are seeing the Spirit move and people are responding, right? Right.

Then, in 17:5, the Jews became jealous, so they decide to start some trouble. Paul and Silas then have to leave and move on to Berea.

So, what is signifcant here? Not only that like many times in the book of Acts, we see people respond to the teaching of God's word, but also it is important to note that people became jealous of this act, and then Paul and Silas were "immediately" sent away (17:10).

I couldn't help but think about how much more of an uptick in the number of conversions there could've been had they been able to stay. Had they been able to speak with some more people, to lead the ones they had just persuaded into believing for a little longer. Revival could've broken out. But jealously ruined that. Jealousy quenched the Spirit. Jealousy can imprison us. Paul and Silas were physically imprisoned, but I would like to present to you that those who were jealous and started the mob, were imprisoned in a different sense- by an evil that manifested in the appearance of jealousy.

Please do not think I am saying jealousy or any trick of the devil is more powerful than God. That is not at all what I'm saying. However, I am saying that when we allow our carnal minds to decide how we think the Spirit should move and how things should go, we really hurt ourselves and others from receiving blessings and allowing the Spirit to move freely.

Something I have started asking myself when I feel comparative, especially toward fellow believer is, "why? where's our finish line?" Our finish lines all should look the same. They are all eternity. They should all be to win as many souls for the kingdom as we can. We know Heaven rejoices for every soul saved; Luke 15:7 -"Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."

Why do we get so hung up on numbers, attendance, etc., more so than presenting the gospel and cheering for that one person brought into salvation? We should be celebrating those people more. We should be patting each other on the back for every time we share God's goodness with others. We should be so excited when another church is seeing success. We should be praising God for still be sovereign and present. We should not be allowing jealousy to quench the Spirit. We are on the same team.

What are you allowing jealousy to steal today? What are you jealous of? Who are you comparing yourself to? And who is that hurting?