The Deadly Hinderance:
Jealousy and Competition
By Dan Holmes
Jealousy is one hindrance that will keep us from seeking His face. It breeds a spirit of competition that has no patience to wait for God to speak or work. Jealousy does not have the time nor desire to dance with Jesus for He moves too slowly for her. She quickly abandons Him to find another partner to dance with. In no time at all her new partner and her are spinning and twirling over the dance floor. Out of the corner of her eye she constantly observes the other dancers. Some are better dancers then her, some are less trained and gifted. Her heart's desire is that one day she become the best. With a smile on her face, and despite in her heart, she takes note of those who seem to capture most of the attention of the crowd watching. Spin and twirl, spin and twirl, together they move happily across the floor, dancing the dance of the world.
In all her hurry to find another partner to dance with she had just missed the hand of Jesus that had begun its reach up to touch her chin. Had she waited a moment longer He was to have tilted her face up to His and kissed her. (Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth - for Your love is more delightful then wine”. Songs of Songs 1:2). In that moment, she would of found what she most longed for, but jealousy never has time to wait very long....never.
When we move ahead of the Lord and do not seek His face first, we produce fruit that may look good but was birthed out of our own ideas, of the flesh, not of faith and yet we proclaim it is of the Lord. In Psalm 37:35 it talks of a man in his own strength who flourished like a tree in native soil, and yet it withers quickly. He looked great and all he did appeared prosperous and successful, yet the Bible says it all withered quickly. Fruit that we produce from our own efforts withers quickly. The fruit which we wait for the to Lord produce through us is such that its leaf never withers” (Psalm 1: 3).
The Story of Rachel: dancing her dance (Genesis 30:1-22)
“When Rachel saw that she wasn't having any children,
she became jealous of her sister.” Genesis 30:1
The story is told in the Bible of a man named, Jacob, who had two wives, Rachel and Leah. Although he loved Rachel over Leah, Rachel was not able to bear children. It was shameful for a woman in those days to not be able to bear children. On top of that Rachel had to live amongst the children that Leah had given birth to as a reminder of her own infertility. As the years went by, the jealousy festered and grew until finally one day Rachel goes to Jacob and demands that he get her pregnant.
“Are you crazy woman! Do you think I am God? He is the only One who can give you children”, Jacob replies in rage.
So Rachel in her jealousy walks away from her husband wondering how she can maneuver God in to taking the lead in this situation and give her a child. One morning, soon after their conversation, Jacob wakes up and there is Rachel standing at the door of his tent with Bilhah, her servant, standing beside her. She has this great idea. “Jacob, sleep with my servant and she will bear my children for me”. Before you know it, a son is born and Rachel gives the credit to God whether He wants it or not. “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request for a son.”