Love Does Not Envy

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy…”

As we continue our dive into 1 Corinthians 13, we next need to look at how Jesus did not envy others. In verse four, Paul says “love does not envy.” When we are envious of someone else, we are thinking of ourselves, not about them. We are not happy for them for what they have, we are wishing that we had it. We are acting selfishly, not lovingly.

When we love someone, we are hoping for their happiness and their circumstances to be better than or equal to our own. Instead of a “me” focused heart we have a “other” focused heart. Envy does not mean we wish ill of someone; it means we are discontent, or we are longing for what someone else has. There may be several things that could cause us to be discontent. We may wish we were as smart as the person in our class who gets good grades without studying. Perhaps we want to be as financially stable as a couple in our church. Maybe we wish we were as good-looking or as good at sports as our friends. If we loved those people who are smarter, better looking, and more athletic than us, then we would not be envious of what they had, but we would be happy for them and for the fact that they have been blessed with these gifts. And instead of being discontent, we would be content in the fact that God is in control, He is the one who gives us the gifts we have (or don’t have) and He does what is best for us (Psalm 139; 1 Corinthians 4:7).

Jesus was never envious though He had plenty of opportunities to be. In John 18:39-40, when Barabbas was released instead of Jesus, (meaning Jesus would be crucified instead of Barabbas who deserved to be crucified according to the law), He did not envy him. Envying Barabbas would mean Jesus was discontent with having to be crucified. It would mean He was longing to be released like Barabbas. Pause and think about that for a minute. Jesus was content, even on the way to the cross! Jesus was not looking at Barabbas being released and yearning to be released with him. He was so loving, and so holy, that even when he was unjustly being sent to his violent death he was not thinking about Himself. Isaiah 53:7 tells us that He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth.”

Of course, He had to be crucified so that we may have eternal life instead of eternal damnation, but that doesn’t make it an any less incredible display of love. This may not be a love that is commonly thought of, but the Bible says that love does not envy, and Jesus did not sin (Hebrews 4:15). Instead of being envious and desiring to be spared He had no envy towards Barabbas and showed no discontentment for the circumstances He was in.

We will most likely never be faced with such an incredible challenge as this. However, Jesus also never envied others because they were better looking or had better qualities either. Isaiah 53:2b says, “He has no form of comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.” Simply put, there were people better looking than Jesus, but he never envied them. He probably wasn’t the best athlete, but that was not something he envied either. The point is, even in the smaller things, the “minor” sins, Jesus did not envy anyone. He loved and therefore did not envy. That is our challenge.

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