Spiritual Jealousy
I’m currently reading the accounts of Paul’s missionary journeys, starting in Acts 13. I noticed that one of the themes that consistently comes up is spiritual jealousy. It’s pretty clear from these accounts that Paul almost always initiated his missionary efforts in a given city with a visit to the local Jewish congregation, where he proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah. It also appears that most synagogues at that time had a number of Gentiles in their congregations. You can tell that Paul was speaking to these Gentiles as well as the Jews: in Acts 13:16, he says “Men of Israel and you that fear God”. This phrase “you that fear God” refers explicitly to Gentiles who believed in the God of Israel but who had not undergone full conversion.
So here’s the situation: Paul enters a synagogue and preaches the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles. They clearly receive the Word gladly — they invite him to return the next Sabbath, and a number of the congregants follow Paul and Barnabas after the worship service and encourage them. The following Sabbath, it’s clear that the news has spread: “almost the whole city gathered together to hear the word of God”. This time, the response of the Jews isn’t so positive: “But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy and contradicted what was spoken by Paul…” This negative reaction pursues Paul and Barnabas for the rest of their journey. Jump ahead a few chapters to Paul’s next journey and we see a similar pattern: in Acts 17, the Jews at the local synagogue initially respond positively, then become jealous when non-Jews start coming to faith, and pursue Paul and make trouble for him when he moves on to the next city.
It occurred to me as I was reading that it’s very easy for us to fall into the same trap with regard to the exercise of spiritual gifts. When we witness someone manifesting a spiritual gift, particularly one that we don’t have, we can easily respond negatively. This can especially be the case when (1) you’re a long-time Christian/member of Lamb of God, and (2) the person exercising the gift is relatively new — a recent convert or someone who has recently started worshiping with us. Such spiritual jealousy can promote divisiveness and thoroughly quench the actions of the Spirit in our midst. Rather, we should rejoice in the gift of God to our congregation and the demonstration of His presence in out midst.
March 10th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
I find it so weird that this topic would come up …I have found myself being pushed by God to do some pretty “out-of-my-comfort-zone ” stuff lately . I often argue about this with God and sort of feel like the little girl running around the kitchen table with a pair of scissors in my hands and the father coaxing me, trying to tell me this is not safe for me to play with but I insist on having my way ! Till finally He comes and prys them out of my hands , with me screaming the whole time “it’s mine …I want it …give it to me ” How like this we all are at times ….Fighting with God about what is best . I am so into what God is doing at Lamb and though I fight with Him about the role I seem to play , I still would rather be in His presence then in a place He ain’t!! I am thinking about the scripture in Gal 5 where Paul is saying what the acts of the sinful nature are …hatred , discord ,jealousy , fits of rage , ect. Then he goes on to talk about what the fruit of the Holy Spirit is …love , joy , peace , patience , kindness , goodness , faithfulness , gentleness , and self control . Since we belong to Christ Jesus we have crucified our sinful natures so we need to keep in step with the spirit ..let us not be conceited , provoking and envying one another .. I say all this to bring up a point . Are you running around the table away from the Father because you think you know what is best or because you like to hold on to your old ideas about what God is supposed to do ? Doing this can be dangerous . As is operating in our sinful nature ..it can kill , just like running with scissors in your hands …I want to encourage all of us to stay in step with the Father …and give Him the scissors….
March 12th, 2008 at 12:03 am
I am so happy to be at Lamb with the exploration of Spiritual Gifts and wise people like you, Dawn and many others to keep us checking ourselves consistantly against false prophets.
I do seem to be led to Spiritual Gifts but am afraid to utilize some of the gifts I feel are being pulled for me to experience. I certaintly don’t want to be wrong and give the impression that I somehow am a better Christian than others because I am blessed (or cursed) with Spiritual Gifts. As you noticed I don’t even want to mention what gift I think I am receiving from my Lord because I am afraid to admit I am being requested to utilize these gifts. I will overcome because God is carrying me in the sand and he will never foresake me as long as my faith stays strong, my love for Him is true and my spirit stays clean(pure).
Pray for me with my personal struggling of my gifts.
Vicki
March 17th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
my gift can beat up your gift !