“O my lord, watch out for envy; It is a green-eyed monster that mocks the meat it feeds on. This quote from Othello is one of the vital famous references to jealousy personified. Jealousy and jealousy motivated the antagonists in lots of works of fiction. But what does the Bible say jealousy vs. jealousy?
No wonder jealousy is a crucial topic within the book of Proverbs. Some of King Solomon’s wisdom says:
“Do not envy a violent man and don’t select any of his ways” (Proverbs 3:31)
“A peaceful heart revives the body, but jealousy rots the bones.” (Proverbs 14:30)
But truth be told, jealousy goes back to the Garden of Eden. Meriam Webster defines jealousy as a sense of dissatisfaction or coveting another person’s advantage, success, property, etc. This is precisely what Satan in the shape of the serpent is playing at when he said “you is not going to surely die… and also you shall be like God knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5) Eve desired to know God, and this desire led to destruction.
Envy rears its head again with Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-10). Cain’s anger at not receiving God’s grace results in him wanting what Abel has received, resulting in destructive consequences.
Envy or greed even appear within the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:17) and the seven things God hates (Proverbs 6:16-19base for Seven primary sins).
Where does the Bible speak about jealousy?
Jealousy appears throughout the Old and New Testaments, almost as often as jealousy. It appears in such verses as:
– Galatians 5:20: “hatred, discord, jealousy, matches of rage…”
– 1 Corinthians 11:2“I’m jealous of you with God’s jealousy.”
– Romans 13:13: “debauchery, not discord and jealousy…”
– Ezekiel 36:6: “in my envious anger, because you’ve gotten…”
– Joshua 24:19: “He is a holy God; he’s a jealous God.”
– Exodus 20:5“…for I, the Lord God, am a jealous God.”
Stop. These previous few verses allude to God being jealous. If God is holy and excellent, how can He be jealous and yet not be in sin? Many people have struggled with the concept that God is jealous, so can jealousy or envy be thing?
Can jealousy be thing?
Jealousy may be good if its heart is for the greater good of one other person reasonably than self-centered.
2 Corinthians 11:2 Paul says that “he’s jealous of you with godly jealousy.” Paul uses the term “godly jealousy” because he desperately wants joy and freedom from salvation in Christ. Because Paul knows that Jesus is the source of truth and life. Paul’s jealousy here’s a deep eager for the great of the church in Corinth.
This same longing and desire for our good is a type of envy that God has for us.
John Piper talks about it about God’s jealousy: because God is “infinitely sensible and infinitely good and knows what’s best for us. And suppose it’s the best good within the universe, the best joy, and the all-satisfying pleasure.” When verses like Exodus 20:5 AND Joshua 24:19 say, “The Lord is a jealous God.” It refers to God’s deep eager for us to know Him and return to Him, because He is the one who may give us “… life and have it to the total.” (John 10:10)
But what does it mean when the Bible speaks of God’s “wrath and jealousy”? (Ezekiel 16:38) How can jealousy be good? Let’s take a moment and define anger. Angerat its core, it’s an emotional response to something mistaken done to us or another person. Because we’re made within the image of God (Genesis 1:27), we will feel emotions similar to God. The difference is that God cannot sin in His emotions. We can sin, and we regularly do. God’s wrath, wrath or indignation is at all times justified and at all times holy. Humankind’s wrath, wrath, or indignation is never sacred or justified.
Take Jesus within the temple for example. IN Luke 19:45-48, Matthew 21:12-13AND Mark 11:12-25, Jesus goes to the temple in Jerusalem. And he sees how tax collectors and money changers reap the benefits of the individuals who got here for Passover to supply a sacrifice to God. Jesus became indignant and drove the moneychangers out of the temple. This anger was justified because what these people were doing was immoral. The wrath of Jesus was also holy since it was not directed on the glory of Jesus or for vengeance.
Commentary by Dr. Thomas Constable puts it this fashion: “Jesus’ literal housecleaning represented His authority because the Messiah to cleanse the corrupt nation of Israel. Verse 16, which is exclusive in Mark, shows how far Jesus went to cleanse the sanctuary. In so doing, he behaved as a faithful servant of the Lord and showed zeal for God’s glory.”
Can jealousy be thing?
Although jealousy has two sides, jealousy can’t be thing. Envy and envy can have an identical source of dissatisfaction or injustice. But envy focuses on inadequacy inside, and external envy focuses on what those around us have and do not have.
In the Daily Hope article, Rick Warren explains that jealousy is a heart problem. Every time you envy, you mislead your worship, because envy is a type of worship. He says, “I would like this. I would like it. I adore it. That’s what I would like to live for.” It’s called love. And each time that object is just not God, it becomes an idol.”
If you read the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17) backwards, it’s interesting that much of the primary nine stem from greed and envy, which is the last commandment.
How to separate envy from envy?
In the Crosswalk article, Jessica Van Roekel we read: “Jealousy involves three people—a one who is jealous of another person due to a rival. Jealousy occurs in as much as 4 situations: sibling rivalry, peer relationships, romance, and paranoia. False judgments, illogical deductions, and misinterpreted tidbits fuel them.” Jealousy in your heart is fear. Whether it is the fear of losing someone, missing out, or not living as much as the standards you have set.
At the foundation of envy is dissatisfaction and an absence of appreciation for what we’ve got. But jealousy doesn’t stop there; it becomes fertile soil for the expansion of bitterness and resentment. Jealousy may be the start. Envy is when something has taken root, creating an idol out of some purpose or someone.
How to avoid envy and envy?
In his discussion of envy and jealousy, Van Roekel goes on to clarify: “Envy is worried that somebody will take something away from us. Envy worries that we’ll never get what we long for. We overcome worry as we move from specializing in our lack to fascinated by God’s abundance.”
It comes all the way down to selecting to be grateful and trust God. I realize it sounds trivial. But if we will “take captive our thoughts and make them obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5) to catch our thoughts and never “let the devil take a foothold” (Ephesians 4:27). Sometimes meaning listening to the music we hearken to and the shows we watch.
When my husband and I got married, we were wanting money and I used to be unemployed. This was on the dawn of home and garden cable television. I got caught up in these houses and their wonderful transformations. Not all cable television is inherently sinful, but I discovered that it fed my dissatisfaction. I had a roof over my head, but it surely had no sheathing or exposed beams. Had a kitchen to cook but laminate on the countertops. Then God was gracious enough to persuade me of my displeasure and envy of the “winners” on the TV show. I made an idol of the looks of my home as an alternative of being grateful for what God had given me. Soon after, we removed the cable. In our case, it left an excessive amount of room for envy, resentment, and envy to grow. I discovered other activities and focused on having a grateful heart for the blessings God had provided.
Alan Parr of Beat says that one technique to fight envy and jealousy is to reject the “happiness lie”. Reject the notion that “if only I had what other people have, then and only then would I be truly glad.” The enemy uses this to make us chase after anything but God.
Having a grateful heart is step one in stopping envy and envy from taking root in our hearts. Much of Ecclesiastes describes Solomon’s observations concerning the pursuit of worldly happiness. finished in Ecclesiastes 4:4“Then I noticed that almost all individuals are motivated to succeed because they envy their neighbors. But that is also meaningless – like chasing the wind. The pursuit of empty things is just not the abundant life that God wants to present us.
Consider the parable of the prodigal son. The younger son chased the world and ate with pigs until he humbly returned home to his father. While the younger son didn’t consider himself worthy to sit down at his father’s table, his father welcomed him home and threw a celebration for him. This is the God of the Bible. A welcoming father who celebrates the return of his children home. This is someone you possibly can trust.
Image credit: Getty Images/francescoch
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