Why do we get jealous?

Devotional for kids

"What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it because there is a whole army of evil desires within you?

"You want what you don’t have, so you kill to get it. You long for what others have, and can’t afford it, so you start a fight to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it.

"And even when you do ask you don’t get it because your whole aim is wrong – you want only what will give you pleasure."

James 4: verses 1, 2 and 3 The Living Bible

Do you ever get jealous? You know, that feeling that creeps over you when someone else gets exactly what you want but your parents say they can't afford it right now. Or it’' how you might feel when you work so hard in school but the kid across the aisle gets an A plus and you get a C. You might feel a bit of jealousy when you really wanted to make the team but you weren't chosen... but that other kid - the one you don't think is that great - got chosen instead.

Jonah felt that way. He was so jealous that he wished he could die.

God sent Jonah to Nineveh to warn the people there to repent. They had become so evil that God wanted to destroy them and their city. But first God wanted to give them a second chance. So He sent Jonah there to warn them.

When God first asked Jonah to go to Nineveh, he refused to go. He said yes to God but then he took a ship going the other direction. He thought he could run away from God.

God sent a fierce storm that tossed that ship around so much that the sailors thought they were going to die. Jonah confessed that his God sent the storm to get him in line so they threw him overboard. And the storm stopped.

God had mercy on Jonah and prepared a special huge fish to come along and swallow him. Jonah repented right away and told God he would go to Nineveh if only He would rescue him. God always hears us when we repent; when we are sorry for our sin. So He rescued Jonah and the fish spat out Jonah on the shore.

This time Jonah went to Nineveh and brought the people there God's message. He said that if they didn't repent of their wicked lifestyle God would destroy them. Jonah was looking forward to God judging and punishing Nineveh. He thought they deserved it because of all the horrible things they did. He was actually hoping that they wouldn't repent so God would destroy them.

But to Jonah's surprise they repented and prayed to God. The king told everyone to wear sackcloth and ashes. That's what people did in Bible times when they wanted to show God they were really sorry for their sins. No one was allowed to eat or drink anything, not even the animals. The king also told everyone to pray to God and stop their evil ways. like stealing and hurting other people.

God heard their prayers and saw that they truly were sorry for their sins. So He decided not to destroy them.

Jonah was angry that God saved the people of Nineveh. He made a shelter of leaves to shade himself from the sun and sat there sulking, feeling sorry for himself.

When the leaves dried up in the heat, God was very good to Jonah. He made a vine to grow right beside Jonah and it grew tall with a lot of leaves to shelter Jonah from the sun. Jonah was grateful to God.

God wanted to teach Jonah a lesson. He made something else just for Jonah: a worm. The worm ate through the stem and the plant died. Jonah continued sulking in the hot sun and the hot wind feeling very sorry for himself. He was angry at God for letting the plant die. Now he had no shelter.

Then God came to talk to him. He told Jonah it wasn't right for him to feel sorry for himself because the plant died especially because it wasn't Jonah who made it grow, but God. Then God reminded Jonah that He was a merciful God. Just like He loved Jonah and helped him when he felt faint in the heat, He also loved the people of Nineveh and chose to let them live because they repented.

Jonah had some wrong ideas about God. He wanted God to bless and help him but not the people of Nineveh. Jonah wasn’t willing to forgive the people of Nineveh so he couldn’t understand why God would. God doesn't pick favorites. He loves all people. After all, he created all the people in the world. He will forgive everyone who comes to Him and repents.

When God blesses someone else in the way that we wish He would bless us, we don't have to be jealous of that person. We can trust God to bless us too. He loves us just as much as that person He blessed in that special way.

We need to keep on trusting God. He will bless us too; it may be at a different time and in a different way. Look for Him to bless you even in a better way than what you expect. If we understand that God is as merciful to us as He is to others, then we can rejoice with that other person rather than be jealous of him.

Memory verse for this week:
"“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1: verse 9 [NKJV]

Going deeper for parents:

As adults we are not immune to jealousy. If anything, if we have not dealt with that green-eyed monster in our younger days, jealousy may be one of those seemingly undefeatable giants we're still grappling with. We all feel the first pangs of jealousy at times, but jealousy should not be a chronic problem for us. God says we should be concerned about others as much as ourselves.

We may not be in the position at work or the place in our life that we would like to be and so we envy the person that is. God has given us the talents and interests He wants us to use for Him.

The Bible teaches we are not to try to emulate other people but to let the Holy Spirit teach us what God wants of us, and then to do it. That way we will not be seeking popularity but seeking to please God.

Want to know more about how God can help you every day? Visit RuthWillms.com and download a sample chapter of my Christian children's novel, The Lion Tree.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com