Bill was the star player on the baseball team. He was good in school, too, and stood at the head of his class. One day a new boy named Tom moved to town. He was the same age and in the same grade of school. Before long Bill found out that Tom could play ball better than he could, and that he, too, was tops in his class—and Bill didn’t like it Envy of the new boy began to fill his thoughts, even though he knew that this was wrong. (Envy means discontent because of the possessions or good fortune of another. Covetousnes.) If Bill allowed envy to grow in his heart, would it make any difference to him, or to anyone else? What would happen? Our lesson today is about two men. One of them allowed envy to grow in his heart—the other did not. We will see what happened to each of them.

Jonathan was a prince, the son of King Saul. He was brave and strong. His father had told him many times that he would be king some day,. After David met and killed Goliath, he was brought before the king. Jonathan was there. He watched and listened as David stood there before the king. They were about the same age and the same size. They were both young and strong and fearless. They both loved God and served Him. The Bible says, “And Jonathan and David made a covenant, because Jonathan loved David as his own soul (life).” A covenant is a promise or agreement between two people . Jonathan and David promised each other to be friends all their lives, and always show love and kindness to each other. Jonathan took off his own robe and his girdle, or belt, and gave these to David to wear. David was dressed in his shepherd’s clothing, and he had no fine clothes to wear in the palace before the king. Jonathan gave him his own sword and his own bow. In the Eastern countries, this was the very highest honor that coud be shown to anyone, to give as a gift something that had been worn by the king or his eldest son. Jonathan did this because of his love for David. He loved him, not only in word, but in deed as well. That means that he did not just say that he loved him but he proved it by the way he lived. And that’s the way we should do. When we say that we love someone it’s important to show this by our actions.

After this King Saul told David he would not let him go back to his father’s house again. He set him over part of the army. Everyone loved David because he was brave and behaved very wisely. The Lord blessed him there and helped him day by day. All the people in the land greatly respected David after his victory over Goliath. This made King Saul envious of him. Saul knew that God was not with him any more, for Samuel had told Saul that because of his sin he would lose the kingdom. When Saul saw that the Lord blessed David, he wa afraid and wanted to get rid of him. He sent David out to fight against the Philistines and thought, “He will be killed in battle.” But David came back safely because God was with him. Many times Saul tried to kill David with a javelin or sword. One day Saul spoke to Jonathan and to his servants, even telling them that they should watch for a chance to kill David. Jonathan was a faithful friend to David. He warned David that his father was trying to kill him. Then he went back to Saul to defend David. Jonathan reminded Saul how David had risked his life to fight the Philistines when everyone else was afraid. Saul listened to Jonathan and said, “I will not kill him.” But before long Saul had changed his mind and sent his servants to David’s house to slay him. But David managed to get away just in time. Some time later David got word to Jonathan, asking him to meet him. He said, “Why does your father hate me and try to kill me?” They talked for a long time. Then Jonathan said, “I will find out if it is dangerous for you to come back to the palace to live, and I will let you know.” Jonathan went again to his father to talk with him about David. This time Saul became very angry. He said, “As long as David lives, you will never be king. He must to put to death.” Jonathan said again, “But why? What has David done to deserve death?” Then Saul became so angry at Jonathan that he threw his javelin at him and tried to kill him because of his friendship with David. Jonathan knew then that it would not be safe for David to return. He felt so sad about this that he could not even eat.

David was in hiding, but he and Jonathan arranged to meet in a field outside the city. They ran to meet each other and put their arms around each other and cried, even though they were both strong men. Jonathan said, “Remember our covenant of kindness between us and the members of our households.” Jonathan went back to the palace, but David went back into hiding. They were such good friends that even today after thousands of years we hear the expression “They are like David and Jonathan” when we refer to two very close friends.

Did Jonathan ever show any envy of David? Never. He knew that he would never be king now, even though his father had always told him that the kingdom would be his, but his heart was filled with love toward David. And there was no place for envy. He risked his life in meeting David, for he was a faithful friend.

Conclusion:
When ENVY entered King Saul’s heart, it was at first just a thought, a little thing. But it did not stay small. It grew and filled his heart. And other things followed envy. HATRED came, and MURDER.. Have you ever envied somebody because he could do something better than you could, or because she was prettier or more clever? If we belong to the Lord Jesus, we know that this is wrong. But how can we have victory over GIANT ENVY? The Bible tells us how to defeat this giant. 1 John 3:18 says, “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth” The apostle John wrote these words when he was an old man that give the answer. When he said, “my little children,” he meant all of us, no matter how old we are. You see, we are all like little children in God’s family. Will your problem be solved by not talking to God? No. God tells you in the Bible exactly what to do. He says to confess your sin. That means to tell God things you do that are wrong. He promises if you confess your sin, He will forgive you – make you clean – from all sin. God knows all things. He knows if you love Him and He knows when you sin. He knows when you are embarrassed about something you have done or said. He knows and understands when you don’t feel like talking to Him. Why do you sometimes not feel like praying? One reason may be because you have sinned, and when you did, you hurt (grieved) your best friend, the Lord Jesus Christ. So before you can enjoy talking with Him again, you have to fix that hurt.

If you have trusted Jesus as your Saviour, you are still part of God’s family. You will always be part of His family .When you were born, you were born into Adam’s family. When you received Jesus as Saviour, you were born into God’s family. Jesus has paid for your sins on the cross. God wants you to confess to Him when you do something wrong. That means to tell Him what you’ve done. Tell Him you’re sorry. God is faithful to forgive you. Thank Him for that forgiveness.

For some of you, if you don’t feel like praying, it may be because you are not yet Jesus’ friend. If you believe Jesus died for you and receive Him as your Saviour, He will forgive all your sins. He will be your very best friend forever and someday you will live with Him in Heaven. God’s word says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) If you know you have done wrong things, but you believe Jesus died for your sin, you can be forgiven right now and belong to God forever.

Remember our story in which Bill was envious of Tom because Tom was a baseball player and a good student? If Bill will confess this sin of envy to the Lord and ask God to help him, he will find that these wrong feelings will leave. The Lord will help him to be kind to this new boy. He may find that he will become one of his best friends, as well.

Prayer:
Father, thank You for sending your Son, Jesus Christ, to die for sinners. We have all sinned for we have all been envious at some time. We confess our sin to you. Teach us to be a faithful friend as David and Jonathan were to one another. In Jesus’ name we pray.