A heart Issue

DEVOTION

GENESIS

A HEART ISSUE

Gen 26:12-22

12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. 13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. 14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. 15 So all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth. 16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, "Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us." 17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them. 19 Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.   22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, "Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land."

NIV

Jealousy and envy will eat a person up on the inside and they manifests themselves in words and behaviors that are both unbecoming and unhealthy. Here we have Isaac becoming extremely wealthy as a result of the blessings of the Lord. Yes, it is true he may have worked diligently at his trade of being a herdsman. But many believers as well as unbelievers have worked hard and still have little to show for their labor. It is also true that some have either worked hard or smart and have gained much for their labor, both the believer and the unbeliever alike. Yet we know that Isaac began wealthy because of the blessings of the Lord. Could we conclude that in order to be wealthy we need the blessings of the Lord? It would seem this is not the case when we look at those of great wealth who appear for all practical purposes to be wicked people. But we can definitely say that the Lord does bless people and cause them to gain wealth. If we are not among those who he has blessed with great wealth how then do we look upon those who have this great amount of wealth. The Philistines whose land he was living in under the rule of Abimelech became very envious of Isaac’s wealth. This manifested in very bad behavior. They could have inquired of Isaac as to how he gained so much in their land. What did he do differently then what they were doing. This may well have given Isaac to witness the Lord God of his father and of whom he serves caused this to happen. We cannot be sure he would have said that if asked, but it certainly would have given him the opportunity. Yet this is not what the Philistines said or did. They wanted him to leave their land, go away, they resented his being so wealthy and thus might exert some authority over them. But they did not stop there, they endeavored to ruin his wealth by filling in the wells his father had dug and kept his herds from water. Well after well they kept it up until he was far enough away from them. Isaac did not retaliate either, he just kept moving until they stopped filling in the wells and confessed that now the Lord had given him room and he will flourish. He was confessing it was the lord God who gave him wealth. But our lesson is in how we think and act toward those who have more than we do as well as how we respond if we are treated as Isaac. Do we envy those who have more than us? Certainly we have no reason to envy the unbeliever for even with all their wealth without accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior they will never experience eternal life. Yet still in this world they enjoy the benefits of great wealth and we might look upon them with a little amount of jealousy or envy if we are not careful. When it comes to other believers who have gained a great deal of material goods, wealth, we need to consider how we think and behave toward them. There should not be any room in a believers heart and mind for envy and jealously. If God has blessed them we should rejoice with them. That sounds easier then it is. Sometimes we need to refresh our perspective on life and understand God has blessed us beyond what we deserve. God works in each person’s life as he determines and we simply need to focus on God rather than on others. Sometimes we see within the church those with great wealth having a great deal of influence on how the church is run. We certainly cannot ask them to leave because they have become too powerful as the Philistines did to Isaac. So, again, we need to stay focused on what God is doing in our lives, listening to the Spirit’s leading, understanding our role in the body of Christ. When it comes to us being treated by someone who is either envious or jealous of us, we need to remember how Isaac responded. He did not become angry, or retaliate nor did he become bitter or even upset. He simply kept on keeping on doing that which he needed to do in order to provide for his herds and his servants. The point is we see here both the bad and the good behaviors of men in their interactions with others. We need to be people of good behaviors, this brings glory to our Lord. The only way to achieve this good behavior in our relationships with others is to be people of a good heart and attitude about people.

Prov 23:7

7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:

KJV

It always comes down to a heart issue. How do we think about others, what kind of attitude do we have about others, either those who have more than us, or those who have less. In the final analysis it comes down to all us believers are sinners saved by grace. We should not think more highly of ourselves then we should. This includes all of us, the wealthy and none wealthy alike, those who think themselves spiritual and those who do not. What matters is that we love each other for who we are, not what we are. We can only do that if our heart is right before God.