Jealousy is the fear that something which we possess will be taken away by another person. When we are jealous, we could begin to commit greater sins to prevent others from possessing what we think is rightfully ours.
Today's reading tells us that Saul was jealous of David because of David's increasing popularity. Because David was becoming more popular, Saul began to worry that he may eventually lose his kingship to David. As a result, Saul began to think of ways and means to get rid of David to ensure the kingship remained his. We see another classic example of this where king Herod tried to get rid of the infant Jesus by killing the Holy Innocents. Saul and Herod were both very jealous men and they had no qualms about killing their competition in an effort to preserve their authority.
What about us? Have we been so jealous that we belittle or put down others? Sometimes in ministry, some of us may have been jealous of others who are more capable and talented. We may think that a particular position in a ministry belongs to us, and we may commit sin when we gossip, commit character assassination, etc. just to preserve the status quo. Are we humble enough to be willing to nurture others and help them grow so that they can one day take over leadership of a ministry? Or has jealously made us blind and hardened our hearts?
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