Jealousy finds fertile soil at the front of the sanctuary.

Live it
It should come as no surprise to learn the sin leading to the first murder in history is still a strong influence on us today. Cain was already jealous of his brother Abel, but after God accepted his brother's offering over his own, he allowed his anger to take over and he killed him. But jealousy is not a sin reserved just for wicked people. Trace jealousy back to where it started and you'll find pride, the sin we know is able to bring down anyone, even someone claiming to be a follower of Jesus.

It goes by different names in the church, but pride is evident in the life of a leader when he will not listen to opposing ideas, or he relishes time in the pulpit, reserving it for himself or someone he trusts to respect "his" territory. It becomes obvious with the overuse of a personal pronoun in sermons and absence of publicly confessed sin. You may be thinking that pride never reaching the point of murder is acceptable as long as the status quo is not upset and there's no visible turmoil within the sanctuary. But we should remember that pride is never the end result, but the contributing factor to someone's fall or premature demise. And when someone falls, he always takes naive and unsuspecting people with him.

Pray it
Thank you for reminding me this morning to keep my eyes on Jesus and not any man. Only You O God, can show us what set to destroy us, and only You can save us from the mess our pride has created over the years of our neglect.

Resources
Those who exercise caution are always ridiculed by those who don't. (2000)
To be loyal, one must decide who is deserving of such a gift. (2001)
Is the Bible a driving force in your life? (2003)
Intercession is reserved for those who exercise bold access when they pray. (2004)
Have you learned to pray and thank Him for answers you've seen yet? (2005)
It's a serious thing to make a vow to God and fail to do it. (2006)
It's ironic how we tend to blame God for consequences to our wrong actions (2007)
You never win swapping licks with God. (2008)

1. One-minute Devotionals began on January 2, 2006 and are the original creation of James R. Green, Prayertower Webservant Content is derived from his alternating and sequential survey of both the Old and New Testament to offer insight on Scripture.
2. Resources are derived from daily devotions of James R. Green called, Just Thinkin'... (2000-2003), Read the Bible Thru in 365 Days (2004), Pray Thru the Word in 365 Days (2005) and One Minute Devotional (2006-2008).
3. Scripture: God's Word Translation (c)1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright ©2008 James R. Green, Webservant - Prayertower Ministries
All Rights Reserved