Hypocrisy on an Infinite Scale

Hello Bible Scholars! Today’s post is concerned with one of the seven deadly sins: jealousy. The dictionary defines jealousy as “envious, resentful or bitter in rivalry.” Basically, what we are dealing here with are the feelings of resentfulness when someone has something that we do not have. The Bible has some very clear teachings on jealousy:

Galatians 5:20-21
20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Romans 13:12-13
13Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

1 Timothy 6:4-5
4He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,
5Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

Proverbs 27:4
4Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?

Proverbs 6:33-35
33A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
34For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

Proverbs 14:30
30A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.

Romans 1:29
29Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

Talking a look at these verses, I think it is pretty safe to say that jealousy is a sin according to the word of God. Not only is it a sin, it seems pretty clear that Paul sees it as one of the worst sins. He lumps it in with murder, fornication, and drunkenness. I don’t think that there can be any debate that jealousy is a sin.

Until you read these verses:

Exodus 20:4-6
5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy 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;

Exodus 34:14
14For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

Deuteronomy 4:24
24For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.

Deuteronomy 5:9
9Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy 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,

Deuteronomy 6:15
15(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

Deuteronomy 29:20
20The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

Joshua 24:19
19And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

Psalm 79:5
5How long, LORD? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?

Nahum 1:2
2God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.

Zephaniah 1:18
18Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

Hmmmm . . . Jealousy is clearly a sin. God is clearly a jealous God. How then is God perfect? How is it that God commands us not to be jealous and has deemed it a sin – but he is allowed to be jealous? Moreover, if God is the omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient being that he claims to be, of what can he possible be jealous? Really. How does God go about being jealous when he can do anything he chooses? It’s akin to me being jealous of a molecule because that molecule does not worship and praise me. Is God really that insecure? Or is God just the biggest cosmic hypocrite?

Let us pray. “Dear Lord, we admire your willingness to admit your sins to us. Don’t be jealous of us. You can have anything you want – all with just a thought. When I am jealous of my neighbor’s car, I know that I will have to work very hard to get one or steal his. In any case, I can be jealous because there I things I do not have that my neighbor does have – like that friggin’ kegerator that he’s all proud of . . . Lord, do not smite us because you cannot contain your insecurities. In your name, AMEN.”