[20] And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. [21] For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, [22] coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. [23] All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” ~ Mark 7:20-23
I recently had a conversation with someone who uses Revelation 2 & 3 to defend his belief that the Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews are not the true Jews/Israelites. After going back and forth for a bit, I asked him why he had no problem with the Mizrahi Jews but only with the Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews. His response? The Ashkenazi Jews go around claiming to be Jews wearing their yamakas and believe they are God’s chosen people. It finally made sense to me.
It wasn’t about race or who the true Jews are or anything like that. It was about the fact that they know who they are and are proud of it. Proud of their heritage, culture, religion, and history, whereas he is not.
So often, our hatred, skepticism, criticism, and accusations are rooted in one thing. Envy. Envy, unlike jealousy (in my opinion), is rooted in wanting what you don’t have and what does not belong to you. Jealousy, on the other hand, is seeing what is yours and what belongs to you being taken away by someone or something else. It’s the desire to keep what is yours yours. One is rooted in self-doubt and often times, self-hatred. The other is rooted in the love you have for another.
When you hate someone and speak all manner of evil about them, take a moment and ask yourself why. Why do you have such a strong distain for them? Is it because they are deserving of this distain (in man’s eyes) or is it because you envy the life they have? The life you desire for yourself?
Often times, our own hatred is a projection of how we feel about ourselves. God made each and every one of us unique with a special purpose. If we focus all of our energy on others, we’ll end up missing our own call. Our own path. Our own destiny. God is no respecter of persons. In other words, He has no favorites. He is only looking for one thing. A willing heart.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live Your Unique Life.