Don’t Drink It!
In John 3, the followers of John the Baptist tried to get him to drink the heart-numbing elixir of jealousy and envy when they said, “the one who you said is the Messiah is baptizing people, too.” They must have been living the thug life because they asked John: “Do you want us to put in some work and stop him?” In other words, they wanted to somehow stop Jesus’ success. John told them to slow their roll. Now, he could have been dragged into the numbers and success game, but John didn’t drink the cancerous libation. He responded with a line that is unnatural for me, but it is a principle that I need to rehearse and learn daily: “I am filled with joy at his success.”(NLT) Let’s be honest; It’s not easy being filled with joy for someone else whose . . .
ministry is larger than yours
budget is bigger than yours
popularity is greater than yours
books outpace yours
blog gets more traffic than yours
songs get played more than yours
networks are stronger than yours
living the life that should be yours
marriage is happier than yours
job pays more money than yours
body looks better than yours
enjoying the success and blessing that should be yours
checks have more zeros than yours
And the list goes on, doesn’t it?
I hear people saying all the time: “I work just as hard and spend just as many hours as they do, working on my craft, honing my skills, and being faithful to God and my family, but I don’t experience the same success.” Sometimes, it just doesn’t seem fair, does it?. Yet, John said: I am filled with joy at his (Jesus) success. So, how can I be filled with joy at the messianic status and success of others? Here is what I’m learning:
1. God gives each different gifts and niches in ministry.
2. I have to be faithful to and thankful for what God has given me.
3. We’re on the same team and playing for the same generous Coach.
4. Celebrate the success of others every chance I get.
5. Jealousy and envy are sins that prevent me from being fully present where I am.
Have you ever been tempted to drink the elixir of jealousy and envy? How difficult is it for you to be filled with joy at someone else success? What lessons are you learning?
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Tags: Calling, Future Opportunities, Humility, Success
April 23rd, 2010 at 8:52 am
Verses 30-36 of that 3rd chapter of John are a favorite of mine. To stay in line with how you were putting it John was balling in his own right. He had some followers of his own but never sought to upstage Jesus, the Kingpin. Like many of us need to realize, John knew his role and acted within the boundaries of it. He did not seek to supplant the Lord but to work for Him so that the glory would be pointed toward Him. Good Word Marvin and written in a contemporary fashion that is interesting and engaging. Just goes to show you that God’s Word never changes. I like the way you repackaged it so it can be delivered to today’s audience.
April 24th, 2010 at 7:44 am
Wow! You are definitely in my backyard with this one! I just experienced some of these same feelings and questions this week.
April 24th, 2010 at 11:51 am
Wow, Joyce Meyer was preaching on that last night! I must have needed to hear it AGAIN, b/c I just had a moment of struggling with this very issue of jealousy! OK I'm listening.
June 10th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
Great message. I'm not sure if my inability to celebrate someone else's success is due to jealousy/envy as much as it's frustration/confusion as to when people who are doing well/have a measure of success/have the ability to help etc. don't take the opportunity to do so if that makes sense? I believe a great part of John being able to celebrate and rejoice in Jesus' success was that Jesus did not keep His success to Himself; He shared it with others in a way that others were blessed and positively impacted by it. And Jesus was so so so humble! He acknowledged and gave glory to the Father for any praise or admiration the people showed Him. That can be a struggle for me too; when people don't attribute their success, prosperity etc. to God's faithfulness. But I do understand it is not my place to judge what they're doing with what God has given them but it is my responsibility to pray for them and to do what I'm supposed to do with what God has given me. On a side note though it would be nice to have a couple, two, three checks with some more zeros on it. Sigh. Jesus!