So What If Their Grass Is Greener
Have you ever looked over toward your neighbor’s house and wished you had that perfectly manicured lawn with the beautifully landscaped flower beds? You wonder why the grass is always seemingly greener on the other side of the fence. You look at that luxury automobile parked in someone else’s driveway and perhaps feel a little jealous or “green with envy.” Maybe you find yourself envious of someone else’s talents, beauty, or place in society. Or maybe you feel a tinge of animosity toward a coworker who seems to always get the good promotions. A friend’s child gets all the awards at school and your kid never gets recognized. You think to yourself, “just once can’t their kid get in trouble!”
If we are all honest, we can say we do at times feel envious or jealous of someone else. The Bible calls this kind of attitude sinful. You probably have heard of the Fruit of the Spirit; a list of nine virtues (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) that the Holy Spirit produces in the life of a believer. Developing these virtues is always a work in progress. But did you also know that right before the “fruit” list is also a list of what the Bible calls acts of the flesh; things like immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies, and yes, jealousy. Read Galatians 5:13-26 to see these two lists.
Did you also know that God calls Himself a jealous God? In the second of the Ten Commandments God says this, “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for, I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God (Exodus 20:4-5 and Deuteronomy 5:8-9. Also see Deut 6:15.).” Wait a minute; didn’t you just say that jealousy is a sin?
Let’s look at jealousy in two ways. It is important to understand how this word “jealous” is used. Its use in the passage I just referenced from Exodus to describe God’s jealousy is different from the way in which it is used to describe sinful behavior in Galatians. God is not jealous or envious because someone has something He needs or wants (like your neighbor’s lawn, their well-behaved kids, that promotion, etc.), but rather, God is jealous when we give to someone or something what rightfully belongs to Him – we are to worship God and God alone. The first commandment (Ex 20:3, Deut 5:7) is “You shall have no Gods before me.” Jesus says the same thing – in Luke 4:8 He says this, “Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.”
Jealousy is a sin when we desire (envious of) something that is not ours. On the flip side, worship, praise and honor belong to God and God alone, so God is rightly jealous when we give our worship to people or things (idols.) Only God is truly worthy of our praise. In Psalm 145:3 we read these words, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.”
So, today, I ask you this – who or what are you jealous of and who or what are you worshipping that is making God jealous? God wants all your praise and He is worthy of all your praise! Let go of those earthly idols and turn your heart and mind to God and worship Him and Him alone!
If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.