2 Samuel 11 

The past few weeks, Mosaic, the middle school youth group, has been studying a series called “This or That,” which is all about comparison. It shows how comparing ourselves with others pulls us away from our relationship with God. As I thought about the youth group study and this week’s passage, I felt that the topics of comparison and jealousy fit hand-in-hand with this week’s passage and our series, “Fractured.” 

Before we go any further, we need to define “jealous.” One definition is “feeling or showing envy of someone or their achievements and advantages,” and another is “fiercely protective or vigilant of one's rights or possessions.” The idea of “comparison” also plays into jealousy, as jealousy begins with comparing yourself with others.

The story of David, Bathsheba, and Uriah starts with David sending all of his men to war, including Uriah, one of his best and most loyal soldiers. Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, is left at home, and one day David sees her bathing on her roof and is jealous that she is Uriah’s wife and not his, so he sleeps with her and she becomes pregnant. David then calls Uriah home, so the pregnancy will be seen as Bathsheba and Uriah’s, not his. But when Uriah refuses to go to his home, David conspires to have his men leave Uriah alone in the heart of the battle, and he ends up being killed.  

Our jealousy of someone’s “better” things or “better” life fractures our relationship with that person, and moreover, our relationship with God. 

Throughout the whole story, Uriah remains loyal and responsible; his life seems to outshine David’s life, and that makes David incredibly jealous. Uriah has a beautiful wife (whom David covets), he is devoted to honoring his army by not resting while they are fighting, and is obedient to David’s wish of fighting in the frontlines. David’s jealousy of this comes with the price of Uriah’s death.

David is so jealous of Uriah for Bathsheba that he sleeps with her, and that causes a chain reaction of Uriah outshining David and David falling short (and that causes him to become even more jealous. It ruins David and Uriah’s relationship completely. 

This is true in our lives as well. When we are jealous, it becomes nearly impossible to be grateful for the things the Lord has given us. We get too busy coveting the things that others have, and we look past just how much God has given us, ruining any relationship we have with Him. Jealousy has the power to dismember every single one of our relationships. 

Next time you feel yourself becoming jealous of anything, slow down and pause. Ask the Lord to lift the weight of jealousy from your shoulders, before it crushes your relationship with that person and with God. Instead of looking at that person with jealousy, you could look at them with respect, and even ask them for help or advice.