When Jealousy Is A Good Thing

For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

Exodus 34:14

In the late sixth century, Pope Gregory the Great codified various lists of major sins circulating in the church, settling on seven deadly ones (listed by him in the decreasing order of their offense against love): pride, envy, anger, sadness, avarice (greed), gluttony, and lust. In the seventeenth century, sadness was replaced by sloth. Interestingly, jealousy isn’t one of the seven deadly sins.

Jealousy probably doesn’t appear because it has both a positive and a negative dimension (see if you can find a positive aspect of any of the seven above). Jealousy can be focused on self (“I am jealous of someone or something because of what I can’t have”), or on others (“I am jealous for you because of what I want you to have”). The former is self-centered; the latter is others-centered.

God’s jealousy for His children is others-centered, for our benefit. He is jealous for us that we might remain pure and holy. God moves aggressively against idolatry not because He is threatened (jealous), but because He cares for (is jealous for) us.

The proper response to God’s jealousy is to have no other gods before Him.