A lesson from Penninah.

My devotional today focused on Penninah. She was jealous of her husband Elkanah's other wife, Hannah. Gien Karssen, author of "Her Name is Woman," writes so eloquently:

Penunnah had allowed her bitterness to take root in her heart. And since she hadn't guarded her heart, her life had become poisoned with envy. This envy stemmed from rivalry, selfishness and a lack of humility. Envy looks only after its own interests, not those of others. The Bible warns strongly against it. Envy is not one of those small character weaknesses that God will allow a man to live with. He puts it in a list of sins which society considers to be far greater: adultery, idolatry, witchcraft, etc.
"Jealousy is the rage of a man," wrote Solomon. It is like a fire. If not quenched rapidly it cannot be stopped, because it affects other parts of the body. This is especially true of the tongue. Peninnah is an example of how a person can use her tongue to vent her jealousy. Being one of the smallest members of the body, the tongue can cause a blazing flame which can destroy entire lives. No wonder that in such a case the Bible says a person misusing the tongue is "set on fire by hell."
Jealousy devours a person because it stems from Satan. In fact, it destroyed Satan himself. He envied God. In his pride he wanted to be like Him, and this caused his downfall. Therefore, Satan is happy every time a human falls into this snare he has prepared. Often he has a great success, for people are jealous by nature. It is ironic that men can allow the same member, the tongue, which they use to talk to God and to honor Him, to be inspired by Satan.
Jealousy begins in the mind. If it is not arrested in time and brought to God, it ruins one's thought life and hinders interpersonal relationships. It is also subtle. It is a far greater danger to the person who harbors it than it is to the person toward whom it is directed. Like a boomerang , it returns to the envious person.