Evangelizing Someone You Envy

Can you evangelize someone you envy?

I can envy folks with more money than I have. My wife sometimes envies women she considers better-looking than her (I tell her there are none who are). We both can envy folks who have (or appear to have) more self-confidence than we do.

I really think envy can kill evangelism. First, envy seems to over-value what someone else has and de-value what I have. Particularly, it can de-value the gospel I want to share. I don't see Christ as my all-sufficient one if I envy something someone else has. I don't have the trust I should in God's providence if I believe my life lacks something someone else has. Also, if I envy others, do I see him or her as they truly are - lost and without hope?

When I think about the encounter between Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler (Matt 19:16-22; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30), I wonder if Satan was in the background tempting our Lord. After all, Jesus had said, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matt 8:20) and this kind of lack may have become old. Others in his position might have felt some envy to this man who had everything.

Likewise, Jesus could have asked for a donation to support him and the apostles. They received supprt from others, and it may have been tempting to ask this man to contribute, even on an on-going basis.

But instead of envying, Mark records that Jesus loved this man. That is the alternative to envying - lovong.

We also see in Psalm 73 how envy affects us spiritually. The psalmist envied the wicked and questioned his own life. He was cured of this by seeing their fate (Ps 73:17). What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?