“Just as God harnessed the power of his jealousy, so you can put your jealousy to work for a higher purpose.”- Alison Cook and Kimberly Miller
“Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”-Exodus 34:14 (NIV)
Alison Cook and Kimberly Miller continue Chapter 12 of Boundaries for Your Soul as they discuss envy’s needs and fears.
3. Needs – to stay within healthy boundary lines, the authors note, your envy needs to:
- with open hands, offer your resentment to God
- invite God to shape your longings
- learn to trust your Spirit-led self so it assumes a more helpful role in your internal family
4. Fears – your envy harbors fears about your Spirit-led self taking the lead. These fears include:
- Heartache will stifle me for the rest of my life.
- My desires will be forgotten or ignored.
Therefore, when you extend compassion to your envy, it loses power over you. Also, as you gain clarity about the deeper desire that your envy protects, you redirect it’s energy into pursuing noble dreams.
In conclusion, Alison and Kim compare envy and jealousy. Sometimes it’s not necessarily out of line to consider jealousy a feeling akin to envy. However, the authors underscore, envy longs for something that’s not rightfully yours. On the other hand, the authors define the word jealous as the desire to possess what is rightfully yours. For example, God harnessed His jealous nature as the nation of Israel repeatedly turned from Him.
Furthermore, the authors caution about an entitlement mentality:
“As you listen to your envy and invite Jesus to be near it, gently remind it of what you know in your heart to be true, that you’re not entitled to anything, and that he gave you every good thing in your life as a generous gift.”
Today’s question: What Bible verses harnessed the power of your jealousy? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Open yourself to desire – painful, even dangerous”
