Words to Treasure
It really upset him. He said to himself, “They are saying David has killed tens of thousands of men. But they are saying I’ve killed only thousands.”
1 Samuel 18:8
The gigantic, hairy spider crawled up Sydney’s arm. The entire class was quiet and impressed. Sydney’s show-and-tell was a home run. Charles was pea green with jealousy. His homemade lava lamp wasn’t the envy of all the class. It wasn’t fair, because Sydney’s mom was a zookeeper and brought home all kinds of cool animals. How can a guy compete with that? How can you bring a cooler show-and-tell than an enormous, blood-sucking, hairy spider?
“Would anybody like to hold my spider?” asked Sydney. “He doesn’t bite. Just be careful not to pet him. It can damage the hairs on his body.” The entire class waved their hands wildly. Even the principal came to have a look. Today was so disappointing. Charles just wanted to take his lava lamp and go home.
Charles could have enjoyed seeing and holding a spider with the rest of the class if he hadn’t been so filled with jealousy. He missed out. And being jealous of what other people have or the things they do is like saying to God that you’re not happy with the things he’s given you. That’s really disappointing for God. And it makes life disappointing for you too. So junk the jealousy.
People in Bible Times
David had defeated the giant Goliath, and the entire kingdom went David crazy. He was a superstar! They cheered him and sang songs about him. They treated him like a king! And that made King Saul very jealous. Who’s king around here, anyway? Actually, God had decided David would be king, because David obeyed God and Saul didn’t. (See 1 Samuel 18.)