A champion's rival chiseled at a statue night after night, and it cost him everything. Pastor Chris looks at envy, the sin that rots the bones, and three ways to get free of it.
Pastor Chris continues the series on the seven deadly sins with the second one: envy. He opens with an ancient Greek story about an athlete who finished second. Night after night he chiseled at the base of the winner's statue, until it fell and killed him. Pastor Chris says he was dead long before the statue hit him, a victim of deep resentment at the good fortune of others.
Pastor Chris turns to Proverbs 14:30, which says a heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. He sets that peace beside the green pastures and still waters of Psalm 23. Envy does the opposite: it's a hidden malignancy that ends in stress.
He gives three steps for anyone infected with envy. First, bring it into the light through confession to God. Second, practice thanksgiving, and he reads Philippians 4:8-9. Third, find a victory for someone else and celebrate it. Pastor Chris says you can't truly celebrate others and envy them at the same time. Envy is hard to get rid of, he says, but not impossible.
Chapters
Scripture
Series: 7 Deadly Sins
Speaker: Pastor Chris
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