Dare 8

Dare 8: Love is not jealous. Jealousy is one of the strongest drives known to man. There are actually two forms: a legitimate jealousy based upon love, and an illegitimate jealousy based upon envy. Legitimate jealousy sparks when someone you love, who belongs to you, turns his or her heart away and replaces you with someone else.

Illegitimate jealousy is in opposition to love--it is rooted in selfishness. This is to be jealous of someone, to be moved with envy. It is sparked when someone else upstages you and gets something you want. This can be very painful, depending upon how selfish you are. Instead of congratulating them, you fume in anger. If you're not careful, jealousy slithers like a viper into your heart and strikes your motivations and relationships. It can poison you from living the life of love God intended.

When you get married, you were given the role of becoming your spouse's biggest cheerleader. But if selfishness rules, any good thing happening to only one of you can be a catalyst for envy rather than congratulations.

It is time to let love, humility, and gratefulness destroy any jealousy that springs up in your heart. It's time to let your husband's successes draw you closer together and give you greater opportunities to show genuine love.

The Dare: Determine to become your husband's biggest fan and to reject any thoughts of jealousy. To help you set your heart on your husband and focus on his achievements, take your list of negative attributes and tear it in tiny pieces. Then share with your husband how glad you are about a success he recently enjoyed.

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice...What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. James 3:16, 4:1,2.