"For the entire Law is fulfilled in in this one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."—Gal 5:14

Filtering by Category: Jealousy

Is jealousy good or bad?

Added on by Lucas Necessary.

Jealousy...good or bad? In Galatians 5, God says, "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: ...enmities, strife, jealousy...and things like these...just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

So jealousy is wrong! But wait, in Exodus 5, God says that He's a jealous God. How can that be? Well notice that it says those who PRACTICE jealousy. Imagine if your wife did subtle things to flirt with other men (or vice versa) to cause you to be jealous. She would be guilty of causing jealousy, and it would damage your relationship. 

God is a jealous God for our worship, because we are His, and He deserves it, not some idol. This is different than envy, which is desiring something that doesn't belong to you, and is in fact the sort of jealousy that Paul mentioned in 2 Cor 11:2 when he said, "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy..." Let's make sure that we don't cause our spouses and our God jealousy!