Stuart Smalley To Help God's Jealousy

The book of Exodus tells us that God is a jealous God. How can this be? Jealousy is supposed to be a vice not a virtue. When we encounter people who are jealous, we wonder "What's his problem?" And on the surface, it can appear that God does have a problem with His jealousy. God seems to frequently "Go off," when God's people blow it.

Is God insecure? Does God need to attend a Stuart Smalley support group to be reminded that despite creation's rejection of the Creator, that "Doggon it, God is still smart enough, good enough and that there are still some people who really like Him."

Actually, God's jealousy, when properly understood helps us understand ourselves and our creator much better. Jealousy is not always a vice. In fact, in a loving, marriage relationship, jealousy is good because it acts to protect and to preserve the love relationship. I remember going with my wife to her 8th grade class reunion. All night there was a guy blatantly staring at her and trying to get close to her. (I made sure that was not going to happen!) I was feeling intense jealousy. Not because my wife was interested in this guy, but because this guy's actions and motives existed as a threat to my most important relationship. In this case, as also seen in scripture, jealousy is applauded because it operates and is motivated by a desire to protect and provide for a loving relationship. God's jealousy reacts to any violation or threat to our relationship to God. Interstingly, we see God's jealousy often in response to His people's worship of idols, which serve as a threat to the intimate and awesome relationship His people can have wiht Him.

This is great news for so many of us. As I have counseled people for over fifteen years, I realize we need the Stuart Smalley support group; because so many of us still feel alienated and unworthy of God's love. So many of us work so hard to attain God's approval. We have no idea of God's grace. Some may correctly believe that God's grace saves us, but then subconsciously and erroneously live as though it is up to ourselves to maintain God's approval. However, God's jealousy is all about God's powerful and zealous pursuit of us. God's jealousy tells us that God wants to have a relationship with us, extraordinarily more than we want to have a relationship with God. God's jealousy for us actually lead God to die for us so that nothing could seperate us from God.

Deep down I still feel as though I am not good enough. But God's jealousy for me reminds me that although I am not good enough, God's goodness is more than enough.

Beams Away!