Are Coveting and Envy Toxic to Your Well-being?

The cutting edge of the seven deadly sins negatively shapes our lives by canceling out the peace and joy God intends for us. It’s difficult being accountable for how vulnerable we are to adapting a lifestyle that includes one or more of these deadly sins.

The Tenth Commandment prohibits coveting whatever belongs to another person, whether it is their spouse, children, house, or anything they possess. Coveting includes lusting and envy. Lusting is not pleasing to God, for it views others as objects.

Envy is also related to coveting, for it would deprive a person of their possessions. Envy would destroy something to keep someone else from enjoying it. Do you see why envy and lust are deadly? God, however, has the power to deliver you from coveting when his love and generosity truly reside in your heart and soul.

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A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. 

~Proverbs 14:30 New International Version 

Do not let your heart envy sinners, but live in the fear of the Lord always. 

~Proverbs 23:17 New American Standard Bible 

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Do Coveting and Envying Pollute Your Soul?

Living the Christian life has never been easy, especially in times of prosperity and leisure. Perhaps self-sufficiency and need-satisfaction contribute to being independent of needing God’s mercy, provision, and protection.

When basic needs are met, we often saturate our lives with what is desirable and attractive. This is a natural process but makes us subject to the seven deadly sins. The sin of lust is closely associated with obsessing, which can enslave the strongest believer.

Lust is a deadly sin because it turns your heart away from the Lord Jesus. Maintaining purity in thoughts and behavior is difficult, but when Christ Jesus is permitted to be activated, he will be your strength and protector. Jesus knows the temptations you face and will empower you with ways to escape when you seek his help. If you do sin, immediately seek forgiveness and repent, and Jesus will create in you a clean heart. 

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Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. 

~Galatians 5:25 The Message 

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Can the Power of Sin Be Overcome?

Although the Seven Deadly Sins are not specifically listed as such in the Bible, they are included in lists the Apostle Paul mentions in Galatians, which parallel the virtues to strive for as Christians. The seven sins listed are gluttony, greed, laziness, lust, anger, envy, and pride.

Because we’re capable of being entrapped by these sins, it’s critically important to know the contrasting virtues God provides to help us escape these temptations. The virtues the Holy Spirit gives you are sexual purity, self-control, generosity, diligence, patience, kindness, and  gentleness.

The Seven Deadly Sins have a familiar and powerful influence in the lives of contemporary Christians. Think of the prevalence of anger in our society and how it dominates individual lives and families. 

The author of Hebrews 12:1 encourages believers to throw off the sin that so easily ensnares us by fixing our eyes on Jesus, in whom our faith and hope depend.                         

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For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. 

~Ephesians 2:8-10 New International Version/New American Standard Bible 

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Do Your Solutions Work for Anger?

In the sixth century Pope Gregory I listed anger as one of the Seven Deadly Sins. While anger does not condemn a person, the behavior it produces can be destructive, or even deadly. Anger can kill the love and affection that bind a relationship together.

We see this happening to Jonah as he turned against the people of Nineveh, God, and himself. Jonah allowed anger to diminish his future. It’s imperative, therefore, to believe anger is a choice and you’re accountable for what it produces.

So how do we escape from anger’s grasp? First, do not eliminate God from the equation. Realize anger kills sanity, the ability to see reality. Healing for anger is found in Psalm 18. “I praise you Lord. I prayed and you rescued me. Death had wrapped its rope around me and I was almost swallowed. When I called out, you rescued me.” God hears a sincere voice requesting solutions.

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Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! do not lose your temper – it only leads only to harm. For the wicked will be destroyed. But those who trust in the Lord will possess the land.  

~Psalm 37:8-9 New Living Translation 

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Is It Possible Not to Desire a Solution to Anger?

It’s interesting how anger is an issue throughout God’s word, and with good reason. Anger is an inescapable emotion, no matter how diligently you try to avoid it. Jonah openly acknowledged his anger and directed it toward God for not meeting his expectations.

Jonah wanted to hold on to his anger because he believed it was justified. In other words, he wasn’t interested in seeking a solution. He wanted God to agree that he had the right to be angry. God’s purpose was not to rescue him from his anger.

A primary reason for seeking solutions to anger is that it pollutes your body, mind, and spirit. Venting intense anger provides relief, but it rarely brings about a solution. Ask God to help you desire a solution in addition to giving you the will to be accountable for accepting what God provides.

This will help you escape both the anger and the sadness it creates.              

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A wise man controls his temper. He knows that anger causes mistakes. 

~Proverbs 14:29 The Living Bible  

But now you must rid yourself of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 

~Colossians 3:8 New International Version  

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Are You Accountable to God for Your Anger?

Jonah believed he had the right to be angry even as he directed it toward God. Feeling justified with anger has the potential to block any resolution while undermining a relationship. The issue is not whether anger is justifiable, but how and when it is expressed.

How does God intend for anger to be managed? The Message reads Ephesians 4:26-27 as, “Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry, but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold.”

The issue is acknowledging the presence of anger and being accountable for adapting positive, biblical methods for resolution. The first step is to admit you’re angry and then state in clear, acceptable language what you perceive to be the cause of your anger. Ask God to give you patience and self-control before you speak.

                     

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Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All of this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ. ~2 Corinthians 5:17-18 New International Version  

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What Prevents Compassion from Being Felt?

An apparent lesson from Jonah is that the moment you feel justified with anger, negative consequences infiltrate your life. You may feel angry for a multitude of reasons, but even justifiable anger has consequences when allowed to linger.

Jonah felt embarrassed because his prophesy for Nineveh’s  destruction failed to occur. Anger follows embarrassment if compassion for others doesn’t exist. Jonah directed his anger toward God for causing his prophesy to fail.

Jonah was knowledgeable and intelligent but could not transition from hatred to empathy for Nineveh, who heard God’s message and repented of their sins. This did not match Jonah’s expectations, but God’s compassion triumphed over Jonah’s anger and objections. Evidently, Jonah never recovered from his anger, but God’s love and mercy will forever be victorious.

Praise God, and may he richly bless you.

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If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 

~1 Corinthians 13:1-2 New American Standard Bible 

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