Envy, A Gateway To Demonic Activity

# 258 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 18:9-11, “So Saul eyed David from that day forward. 10 And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house. So David played music with his hand, as at other times; but there was a spear in Saul's hand. 11 And Saul cast the spear, for he said, "I will pin David to the wall!" But David escaped his presence twice.” The word “eyed” in the Hebrew means to watch with jealousy. Saul was envious of David and we need to learn a very important lesson here. Look what happened on the very next day that envy occupied the thoughts of Saul. A distressing spirit came upon him. Envy is a gateway for demonic oppression and activity in our lives. That's why it is so important to nip it in the bud. Jas 3:16 says, “For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.” Saul wanted the acclaim and favor of the people, but when he saw that David was getting more of it than he, envy reared it's ugly head, and he sought to run David through with a spear. Unchecked envy can indeed take us to that point. Scary thought isn't it? Envy can show up on worship teams in church. It can show up amongst pastors when the church down the block is drawing more people for Sunday worship. It can show up in covetous concerns about others financial well-being, social status, or whenever we find ourselves wishing we had what others have. Oh, we don't seek to run a literal spear through people when envy shows up, we usually settle for choice words that will seek to put us in a better light than them. We assassinate with words, rather than spears. Don't be so dull, that you can't recognize envy when it rise up in your flesh. At the first twinge, get on your knees and confess it as sin, receive God's forgiveness, and then seek to spend your time cultivating the gifts of goodness that God has given you, rather than tearing down the gifts he has given to others.