Courtney Gilmore Jealousy has gotten a bad rap these days. But it can’t be too wrong because God Himself says He is Jealous.
You shall worship no other god, for the Lord whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
Exodus 34:14
So what are we missing? I think the problem is that we have righteous jealousy mixed up with envy or covetousness. We use all those words interchangeably, and because coveting and being envious are wrong, we tend to think that it is always wrong to be jealous. But there are times when it is absolutely justifiable. So let’s look at these words a little more closely.
Envy
When we envy what someone else has, we often say we are jealous. We may envy their car, their house, their job, their marriage, their body, or a multitude of other things that they have that we do not. Our envy leaves us dissatisfied and ungrateful.
Envy allows them their things. We don’t wish that they were lacking, we just want it too. But sometimes we begrudge them and wish that what they have actually belonged to us. That is coveting when we want something that doesn’t belong to us.
When carried to it’s extreme, coveting can even cause us to take things that are not ours. Just as theft was forbidden in the ten commandments, so was coveting.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.
Deuteronomy 5:21
Jesus even said that to lust after another woman was the same as adultery. Likewise, wanting something that belonged to another was akin to stealing. Both of these are the emotions that bring us to the action, and both are best pushed aside.
Forget for a moment that it’s a sin and can do harm to others if carried too far, when all we can think about is everything our friend has that we don’t, we are not happy people. Envy and covetousness affect how we feel about our own lives and can have an effect on our relationships with others too. They are destruction in every way. But this is not what God is talking about when He says that He is jealous or when He tells us to be jealous too.
Jealous for God
When Zimri betrayed God by bringing a Midianite woman into the Israelite camp after they had already been punished for worshipping the gods of these women, Phinehas was angry on God’s behalf. Because of His love for God, He could not stand by and watch someone betray Him and get away with it. So he took immediate action against their unfaithfulness by attacking and killing them both.
Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in My jealousy. Therefore say, “Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace, and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.
Numbers 25:10-13
We Belong to God
So, God is jealous for the love and devotion of His people and He is happy when are also jealous on His behalf. This is because the people belong to Him. The Israelites then, and Christians now, belong to the Lord.
I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.
Deuteronomy 5:6-7
This reveals why it is considered unfaithfulness and why the penalty is so harsh. We belong to God, therefore He has rights to us. So when we give what rightfully belongs to Him, to another, then we are betraying Him. Do you understand a little better now why this kind of jealousy is not only okay, but is praiseworthy.
Unfaithfulness
I obviously hate unfaithfulness in my marriage. Why? Because my husband belongs to me and I belong to him. We have joined our lives together.
Man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. So then, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate.
Mark 10:7-9
I no longer belong even to myself, much less to another. This gives my husband right to me that no one else has, and I have rights to him that no one else does. His body belongs only to me, period.
For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
1 Corinthians 7:4
But his heart also belongs to me. If my husband called another woman on his way home everyday to tell her about his day, I would be jealous of that. Why? Because he is supposed to be sharing his life with me, not someone else. I have a right to that because he belongs to me and I to him.
Jealousy
So, envying and coveting have to do with wanting something that doesn’t belong to you. But it is not wrong to be jealous for what rightfully is yours. That is why it is good for God to be jealous for us. We belong to Him and that is a wonderful, comforting, amazing thing!
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!
1 John 3:1
It is also why it is justifiable to be jealous in regards to our spouse. Now, should we be so possessive that it rules our lives, makes us unhappy, and makes our spouse walk on eggshells. No! There is definitely a time when righteous jealousy crosses over into something that is very unhealthy for us and our relationship. But just because we can take it too far, doesn’t mean it is wrong altogether.
So, Be Jealous
So, be jealous this holiday season. Be jealous for your loved ones. Your Heavenly Father gave them to you. They are yours. Treat them as your beloved gifts!
But most of all, be jealous for your God. He sent His Son for you…
She gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. In the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. An angel for the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
The angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger.
Luke 2:7-13
and that Son gave His life for you.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
So, give your life to Him. Stay faithful to your God and tell everyone else why they should belong to Him too.
Excerpt from Episode 98 “Following God in Unity” on Podcast and YouTube
All Podcasts
