FASTING and PRAYER FOCUS: EMPTYING SELF

Day 1: Envy and Resentment

Focus Text: James 3:14-16 NIV

But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

Devotional Thought: EVNY AND RESENTMENT

We begin looking into our proverbial closet with the sin that is the stepping stone to all sin, the sin of covetousness. It is through covetousness, aka envy, we are led to lie, steal, and kill, among other things. But if we are brave enough, when we open the hidden closet of our mind and heart, one of the first things we find that needs to be emptied out is envy - which sooner or later develops into resentment. Envy is the first stage of all our future challenges. It may be that you are envious of a friend, a colleague, hey, it may even be your partner or spouse. The thing is, when you can no longer be satisfied with what you have been blessed with, you begin to desire what is not rightfully yours. From there, it is very easy to fall into a dark pit, bearing fruit to more chaos, and creating a further distance between you and your creator.