Envy
A Big Problem You Didn't Know You Had
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
It’s often undetected—but if you knew the damage it was causing, you’d do everything possible to root it out!
Envy. It’s insidious. Pervasive. Corrosive. In the age of materialism and social media, it’s difficult not to feel the creep of this increasing and ever-present temptation. Pastor and teacher Mike Fabarez diagnoses the problem of this pervasive sin. He brings the reader to biblical stories with often-overlooked ties to envy that expose and demonstrate the seriousness and harm caused by our unexamined motives. When envy is allowed to reside unchecked in our hearts, there are internal, relational, and societal costs—Envy explores all of these.
But we are not left to despair. Instead, we are invited to know a kind and gracious Father who calls us to identify and assault this enemy. We can live with satisfaction and contentment. This book explores biblical ways to shore up our hearts and minds and close the gaps that leave us vulnerable to envy’s temptations. By understanding life in the body of Christ, readers learn to truly rejoice with those who rejoice. And we leave with a deeper capacity for grace and selfless love. With a pastoral heart, Fabarez reassures Christians of a divine hope and promise of an eternal kingdom where hearts are content, and joy is full.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"All the passages of Scripture filled with conflict, anger, depression, rage, despair, and hostility" are "related, in one way or another, to the sin of envy," declares pastor Fabarez (Raising Men, Not Boys) in this charismatic guide. Sifting through scripture from Cain's murder of Abel to Saul's "evil eye," the author posits that resentment of those who "have a blessing in their own lives that you don't" both spurs dissatisfaction and devalues each person's unique, God-given blessings ("there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; there are varieties of service, but the same Lord," according to the Bible). To find "satisfaction in our less-than-perfect lives," Fabarez advises Christians to take spiritual inventory of their own irreplicable gifts and blessings; "sincerely rejoice" in others' wins; and actively practice loving others. Fabarez's vigorous prose never loses steam or becomes gratingly didactic, and those who can forgive his heavy-handed metaphors ("all the mental vigilance we need in this spiritual war against our enemy and his demonic snipers... will one day be behind us") will appreciate his brisk and candid "you get what you get" approach that foregrounds faith and gratitude. Christians seeking to vanquish the green-eyed monster will be buoyed.
