Any and all sin will keep you out of heaven. However, if we were to list some of the worst sins committed, envy would have to be at or near the top. Envy was one of the reasons Jesus was crucified, as Pilate knew that for envy they [the Jewish leaders] had delivered him (Matthew 27:18). Jesus would tell Pilate, he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin (John 19:11). Since this sin played a great part in the crucifixion of the Lord, his disciples should want nothing to do with it.
The apostle Paul lists envy as a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). Peter exhorts us to lay aside (literally, "to cast off") all envies (1 Peter 2:1). Merriam Webster defines envy as, "painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage." Twice in the ninth chapter of Matthew, it is written that Jesus' fame spread abroad in all the country (Matt. 9:26, 31). The apostle John records a statement made by the Pharisees that betrays their envious feelings toward Jesus: The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him (John 12:19).
Their envy of Jesus blinded their eyes to the truth that he was the Son of God. Envy will cause us to harbor the same feelings as that of the Pharisees. It will breed hate in our hearts toward our brothers and sisters in Christ in which should be the strongest bonds of love. Charity envieth not (1 Corinthians 13:4b). There was not an envious bone in Jesus' body. But the religious leaders of that day were pained to see the success Jesus was having among the people. They not only wanted him to fail, but to fail gloriously. They characterized the attitude the wise man warned us about: Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, And let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, And he turn away his wrath from him (Proverbs 24:17,18).
We often envy those who are like us, and in whom we compare ourselves. Singers usually do not envy doctors, but other singers. Athletes do not envy writers, but other athletes. Family members do not envy strangers, but other family members (cf. Genesis 37:11). Instead of looking upon those with envy and treating them as enemies, we ought to look on them as allies who can help us in our common walk. The way to do that is to think differently than an envious person. An envious person is sad at the success of another and happy when he fails. But the Christian should, Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep (Romans 12:15). Do you react this way when others in your circle experience the good times in life and the bad? If not, repent.
Many will pass through the gates of hell because of envy. Not only will envy cause the ruin of the soul in eternity, but it will ruin one in this life: A sound heart is the life of the flesh: But envy the rottenness of the bones (Proverbs 14:30). The good news is that envy is curable. The hard part is diagnosing it in yourself: But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth (James 3:14). Resolve today to rid this ugly sin from your minds knowing that those who delivered up our Savior to be crucified did it because of envy.
Brotherly, Jamie
