“Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” Exo 34:14
Is God a selfish God? Is His love for us self-interested and self-motivated? The answer to that question is both yes and no. Confusing? Let me explain. Have you ever been in love? If so, then you would know that when you love someone you want to do selfless things for them and make that person happy. But you also want that person to love you back and enjoy you. You want them to be devoted to you. You want them to love you back.
Yet, love opens you up to do more selfless things for that person that you don’t normally do. You love them for their own benefit, but let’s not lie, when you love you do it also for your own benefit. We like how love makes us feel and we like feeling good about ourselves when someone loves us back. Made in God’s image and understanding that, is it so surprising at that we do crazy things to have love? We need to be honest. When we chase after love we are not doing it for a hundred percent sefless reasons; we want love for our own benefit. We can’t live without it. We’ve got to have it.
Yes, God wants us to love Him for His own benefit and glory. But He also does things for our own benefit; He wants us to enjoy the benefits of His extreme love. His love drove Him to die an excrutiating death on the cross so we could have salvation and an abundant inheritance, of which He is our greatest prize and we enjoy Him forever.
A God whose name is Jealous? What kind of thoughts does the word “jealous” bring to your mind? Typically, not good ones. But jealousy is actually not always a bad thing. Me being jealous of your car or relationships, that’s bad. But if your spouse has an affair, wouldn’t it be abnormal for you not to be jealous? Jealousy is part of love. And if you don’t believe me - when you love someone are you really okay with them being with someone else? Are you okay with sharing them? Are you okay with them not loving you back? Even outside of marriage, would you be in a romantic relationship with someone and let them enter another romantic relationship with someone else? Let’s be honest, no.
We may have negative connotations when we hear the word “jealous” because we have wrong perceptions. But the truth is, you will only be jealous for something you actually care about. If you didn’t care for it, you wouldn’t be jealous. If you didn’t care for your spouse, you might be okay with him or her sleeping with someone else. But that’s not the reality. God values us and values our love; therefore, God wants to have it and He is jealous for it.
