Whoever is wicked covets the spoil of evildoers, but the root of the righteous bears fruit. (ESV) (Proverbs 12:12)
Thieves are jealous of each other’s loot, but the godly are well rooted and bear their own fruit. (NLT) ( Proverbs 12:12 )
Do you ever find yourself envious of other people? It is only natural, everyone does, it’s part of being human. Watching the Olympics, I envy a lot of these athletes: their stamina, their strength, their beauty, etc. However, we don’t have to act on our feelings. While we can’t steal these things from the athletes, we can and often find other flaws in people to make ourselves feel better. This verse tells us that with being strong in our faith comes the ability to create our own fruit! Of course, this is done through God. If we are to be envious, envy someone for their faith and emulate that. We can work hard to have better bodies and work on our own strengths. But how awesome to know we can rise above thieves, who only steal from each other, and instead can glorify God with creating fruit.
Joe
The Closet Professor 
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