Is It Ever Alright to be Jealous?
Yes. It is sometimes permissible, if not necessary, to be jealous. Let’s face it – Our God is a jealous God. Exodus 34:14 even says that His name is “Jealous.” This Hebrew word in the original text indicates that God is not going to put up with any rival, such that any departure from one’s desire for Him to pursue someone or something else would bring about His severe and justified anger. Therefore – He’s jealous. It’s a relationship thing. It’s an ownership thing. It’s a love thing.
There are legitimate reasons for humans to practice godly jealousy. But really quickly let’s first discuss what godly jealousy is not. Godly jealousy is not being jealous when someone is experiencing a good moment without our involvement. Godly jealousy is not being jealous when someone has something we wished we had that we have failed to obtain. Godly jealousy is not being jealous when can’t claim ownership over someone or something to whom we have no right in the first place. Godly jealousy is never selfish, self-centered, or self-advancing.
1. We have a right to be jealous over what we have CREATED. God created us, and therefore He is our Master. He designed us and put in us a measure of Himself. He has a right to ownership because of what He has invested and sacrificed. Those who have children have a natural right to jealousy over the affection and relationship and eventual destiny of their offspring. We were here with them first. So when we have involvement in the very existence or creation of something, even a design our project, jealousy over it can be warranted.
2. We have a right to be jealous over those with whom we are in a COVENANT. Husbands have the right to be jealous over their wives. Wives have a right to be jealous over their husbands. In discussing obligations of spouses, the apostle Paul said this, “The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does” (1 Cor. 7:4). This is because they have pledged themselves for life and have sealed the covenant ceremoniously. Christians are in the same covenant relationship with God in a spiritual sense.
3. We have a right to be jealous over that which we have CONSECRATED. To consecrate is to “set apart, to sanctify, or to make holy.” God has sanctified us by washing us and cleansing us in the blood of His dear Son. Once set apart, we are His possession. And there are things in life that we as humans also set apart. We commit ourselves and sacrifice ourselves in order to keep these things pure and good at all times. When something attacks or seeks to compromise what we have righteously exerted all of our energy to keep holy, we should react with godly jealousy. It is right to protect the beauty and value of that which we have consecrated.
Jealousy can be a good thing if it is tempered. It means we are passionate and care about the relationships in which we have invested. God’s jealousy really only means that He loves us above every other created thing, and that should make us feel important. To be jealous can be to be godly. But to be jealous when we have no right to be, well, this is the working of the evil one.
“For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14)
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AUTHOR: Jeremiah Tatum
