Envy is ugly and self serving. At its core, it's jealousy. Envy and jealousy are anti-relationship. This attribute of envy leaves a person in constant "receives mode." The "give mode" required by love becomes shut off and even nonexistent, making a relationship impossible. Selfishness leads to relational death, and jealousy is frantic, self protection that paralyzes relationships. Born out of self love, it leaves nothing for the other person. We say we don't believe that love envies, but when you think about it, many of us believe that envy is the true inception of love. Hence, we attribute to God's character as well.
I have heard preachers thunder from the pulpit that "God is a jealous God." Because we see God's jealousy and envy from the upside down human perspective, we have created a black cloud over Christianity that ultimately strangles the death of our relationship with God.
We say things like "God wants you to give Him your life," and it doesn't even sound bad to us anymore. Over time it actually begin to sound beautiful. Christ came that you may have life and have it more abundantly. He never ask you to give Him your life. It is your heart he is after. Only an envious God would give you life and then requires you to give it back to Him.
People check themselves to make sure they don't love their mates too much for fear that God will get envious and either remove their mates or remove His presence. Couple break up because the partners fear that the person they are in love with has become an idol before God. They constantly measure whether or not their thoughts are more focused on God than on the ones they love.
God is a jealous God, but he is jealous on behalf of you. He is not selfishly jealous as human beings are. His righteous jealousy is actually opposite of what we understands jealousy to be. When the bible says that the Holy Spirit envies, it's speaking in context of love. A father gets jealous when his daughter is dating a man who doesn't love her as much as he does. He is not jealousy on his behalf. His jealousy is on behalf of his daughter. He wants her to have the best, and when he sees her giving herself to someone who doesn't see or understand her heart the way he does, he immediately becomes jealousy for her.
God is not in competition for our love. I am always mystified when I hear people boastfully says, "I love God more than my wife." The only way to love God more than your spouse is to love God through your spouse. Your husband or wife would be the direct recipient of that love. The God who is love loves it when we love. He doesn't concern Himself with whether or not someone else is receiving more than Him. God is never in competition with your love for people. Anytime you love a person, you are not far from God! Your love for people is the evidence that God is living inside you. It is impossible to have a relationship with God aside from relationships with people. He doesn't get jealous or envious of our love for His people; He delights in it because that is how He created life to work.
"extracts from Misunderstood God by Darin Hufford"
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