We've all dated one, or two, or ten. We all know what they're like. Controlling. Demanding. Breaching privacy. We hate it, yet we never leave. Why? Why do we just deal with it and stay and do what they tell us? Because we "love" them, right? That's what we tell our friends and family and even ourselves. "You can't help you love" is a phrase that has came out of our mouths in defense of our overly jealous partner.
So, how is God--the merciful, loving, grace-giving, the forgiving--like this? Well for one, HE SAYS SO!!
- Deuteronomy 6:15 says this, "for the Lord your God, who lives among you, is a jealous God. His anger will flare up against you, and he will wipe you from the face of the earth."
- Exodus 20:5 "You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected--even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me."
Ouch. This God doesn't paint a picture of mercy or grace or forgiveness. But why is God so serious about this? What is making him convey this extreme measure of how jealous he is? One word. Idolatry.
But Dacey, I don't commit idolatry. I don't have any little gods in my room that I worship or whatever. But don't you? Don't we all? Look at your cell phone, your job, Facebook, school, music, etc. How many times do we mean to sit down and spend time with God and then realize we don't have the time? Like, everyday, if you're me. But isn't that saying, "Well I was too busy today for God." We have let pretty much everything in life take over, and God is angry.
Ever felt like God has left you? Abandon you? Doesn't have time for you? Take a step back and think about this, God NEVER EVER EVER EVER LEAVES US...WE LEAVE HIM. Boom, mind blow. When I feel alone, abandon, and like God has forgotten about me, it's 1000000% of the time because I left God, I abandon him, and I forgot about him. Not because he did. I let things take priority over God and my life began to reflect that. God doesn't throw pity parties guys, we do. So leave your pity party and come on back to the G-O-D. Make time for him!
So why does God get jealous? This question irks me. It's that question that gets under my skin and makes me wanna drop kick people, seriously. God LOVES us. He has everything and all he wants is priority of our lives because he wants us to have the very best of everything! He sent his Son to die a gruesome, brutal death so that Jews and Gentiles could be equals! (Sorry for my Jewish friends reading this) I can't even convey how much God loves us, to try to would be a whole different post. So yeah, God wants everything from us. He has given everything FOR us, what right do have to tell him no? He gave us life, freedom, and eternity. Why not make him our everything?
So yeah, God is like that jealous boyfriend. Except he isn't a taker, he's a giver. All we have to do is accept and respond. It's not a checklist of do's and don'ts here. God will give you the desire to do his will, trust me.
