jealousy and covetousness

one thing that sticks in my craw is the redefinition of terms

it is interesting how covetousness has been redefined as "jealousy" and the original meaning of jealousy has been lost...

today we say that one person is jealous over what another person has...

that is NOT jealousy, that is covetousness.

covetousness is desiring something that is not rightfully yours, and it is a sin.

by calling covetousness "jealously", it seems to take the sting of sinfulness out of the behavior in people's minds.

also, the loss of the true meaning and role of jealousy causes us to question God's character when the God reveals jealousy as one of His characteristics.

jealousy is actually the opposite of covetousness...

jealousy is the guarding of something that is rightfully yours...

to best understand this, we can examine the role of righteous jealousy in the marriage covenant.

there are affections of a husband that should only be reserved for his wife

the wife has every right to be jealous over those affections that are rightfully due her only and no one else.

by the same token, there are affections of a wife that should be reserved only for her husband

the husband has every right to be jealous over those affections that are rightfully due to him and to no one else.

matter of fact, i would question a person's profession of love if they were never jealous.  lack of any jealousy is an indicator of a lack of any true healthy emotional attachment.

the marriage relationship is often used to help us understand our relationship with God and helps us to understand how God is jealous over our affections that are due to Him and Him alone.

that is why the first and second commanded are what they are, written by God Himself with His own finger, God describes Himself as jealous:

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make up for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shalt not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Exodus 20:3-6

God has demonstrated His great love toward us through His paying the ultimate price for us, and He is righteously jealous concerning our attentions and affections that are due Him.

while covetousness is a sin, jealously is an essential component of Love.