It may surprise you, but one of the greatest
hindrances in almost all types of revival, and
the move of God’s Spirit, is the spirit and
attitude of jealousy. It has squelched, killed
and caused confusion in the moves of God in
people’s lives, churches, growth and spiritual
events for as far back as history reports. For
example; Satan, jealous of God’s greatness
and power, rebelled against God taking one-
third of heaven’s hosts with him when he fell.
Jealousy inspired the murderous rage of
Cain when he killed his prophetic brother
Abel (Gen. 4; Luke 11:50-52) because Cain
felt entitled to God’s acceptance, even when
he’d offered an unacceptable, bloodless
sacrifice. At the same time Abel’s sacrificial
lamb found favor in God’s eyes, pushing
Cain’s rage to the edge. Yes, jealousy is
murderous, for it will do whatever it has to in
order to accomplish its goal and get it’s gain.
Once again, let’s consider that jealousy
needs a platform to work from. That stage is
often entitlement, an attitude or an amplified
selfishness that is rapidly displaying itself in
many spheres of modern society.
Nonetheless, even though entitlement, and its
familiar sidekick, narcissism, have become
more common place, this assertiveness is
nothing new to humankind. What’s more,
whenever entitlement reaches maturity,
horrible selfish and destructive behaviors
always follow.
Today sociologists are trying to understand
how this problem of entitlement has affected
so many in our younger generation. Many
believe it is the result of radically modified
ideas of child rearing. But a growing number
of researchers are moving toward the
conclusion that the problem of entitlement is
not a recent development, and it has
gradually developed over the course of at
least 75 years change in how youth have
reacted to truth, parents, and God. It may go
back even as far as 150 years, originating in
Europe, when the Bible and prayer began to
disappear from higher educational circles. So
consider these things from a biblical record.
The great patriarch Joseph was nearly done
in by his jealous brothers who’d come to
despise his prophetic dreams, and the favor
he received from Jacob, their father. Many of
them were his elder brothers which meant
they automatically had an attitude of
entitlement concerning inheritance, honor
and privilege. Consequently, when young
Joseph boasted unwisely of his spiritual
encounters with God, the brothers began to
envy him. After all, in their minds they
deserved to get everything that was rightfully
theirs by birth. It wasn’t “fair” that he had
received more attention, privileges, love and
gifts. “You owe me” ran rabbit trails of
thought through their emotions and mind.
These feelings, all characteristic of
entitlement mindsets, build the platform for
jealousy that then acts out calculated evil
devices. Therefore, cooperating with rage,
they plotted his death, all because they we
re jealous. Had it not however been for
Reuben, one of the less effected brothers,
who managed to persuade the rest of the
boys to sell Joseph to slave traders, Joseph
would have died, abandoned in a deep well.
Thought not the ideal future, Joseph traveled
bound to Egypt, was then sold into servitude
and interestingly, fell into another plot where
jealousy showed up again, but in another
form.
There are many more Biblical accounts of the
way jealousy operates. But I believe it’s
important that you understand that in order
for jealousy to gain a foothold, it must first
find a platform to work from: that being
entitlement.
Entitlement is characterized by thought
patterns and feelings that have developed
out of a wrong and unhealthy emphasis
concerning one's personal value, identity and
the fulfillment of personal desires. It is the
epitome of selfishness and can develop in a
wide range of environments and habitats. It is
very easy to fall into the pattern of blame
casting saying it’s the fault of bad parenting.
In many cases that may be so. However,
entitlement thrives in a culture that
encourages personal worth and significance
above character, and also interestingly,
ignores the fear of the Lord.
We are living in a day when spiritual leaders
all over the world are predicting an upcoming
move of God and revival. I don’t entirely
disagree that this is coming. On the other
hand, I feel it is very important to warn eager
revival seekers that true spiritual revival
requires a denying of self and an embracing
of the work of the Cross and the resurrection.
I am concerned that when a move of God
breaks out, that because of the rampant
attitude of entitlement, or “God owes me”
those not experiencing the same type of
spiritual breakthrough as others, will gradually
become jealous and try to sabotage it.
Remember how Josephs' older brothers
caused him difficulty? Can you also
remember the story of the prodigal son and
his elder brother? Once the prodigal son
returned home,(which is actually a type of
revival), the elder brother became jealous of
parallel between these events and a move of
God in this day and age is undeniable. This
very same thing could easily happen when a
move of God occurs and if entitlement isn't
killed at the roots.
I will be continuing to write about how
jealousy and entitlement operate in our time
frame. Until then, please examine
your
heart
and ask yourself: Do I think that
God owes me? Do I react when others are
blessed and I believe that I deserve the
same things they have without taking
responsibility for my own life? I know these
are tough questions to answer, but we must
face this if we’re going to see a real move of
God in our day that produces fruit that
remains. All I ask of you is to give me time to
develop this theme and if you can restrain
your comments or questions, to allow me to
develop this, I would really
appreciate it. Thank you. Until next time.
