Jealousy, envy and an unwilliness to take responsiblity for our own actions. — 1 Kings 3:21–22, 24–27
I see this at play all around me today. Everyone plays the victim and takes from others, instead of owning their wrong and the consequences that follow.
We see this played out 1 Kings 3. Solomon makes an incredibly wise ruling.
Two prostitutes had babies at the same time and lived in the same house. One mother smoothered her baby in the night, and the child died. She then traded her baby with the other child in the night and claimed the living child was hers. No one is there to witness it and/or confirm whose child is whose. So it was brought before Solomon.
1 Kings 3:21–22, 24–26 (NIV84):
The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne.”
22 The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.”
But the first one insisted, “No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.“And so they argued before the king…
24Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. 25 He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”
26 The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”
Here is where we see the victim mentality, full of envy and jealousy and self-love is exposed.
1 Kings 3:26–27 (NIV84):
But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”
27 Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”
Why don’t we accept reality? Why do we become blinded by envy? How is it we can be so self-involved that we don’t care that so many others are hurt by our lack of willingness to accept responsibility for our own actions and live with the consquences of our own choices?
Father, help us to run to you when we make bad decisions or even consequential mistakes. Help us to be honest before you and others and help us to live in reality and not envy. Help us not to hurt others in our attempts to falsely change reality and take away the consequences we refuse to own.
Help us, Lord, to run to you and trust in your mercy and grace as we own the truth of our choices.
Mercy, Father, mercy!
