“You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.” Exodus 34:14 (NLT)
Did you ever have a friend, a girlfriend, a boyfriend, a best friend who wanted you solely for themselves and would get upset, jealous, even angry when you turned your attention to someone else? This type of immature, insecure and self-serving jealousy is unhealthy and almost always leads to breakups that leave the relationship in tatters and those in the relationship more guarded about the next relationship. The beginning of building that wall that creates barriers, impenetrable emotions and in many minds, “healthy, aka ‘unhealthy’ distance” in friendships and relationships.
So then, why did God come down to Moses on Mount Sinai and tell him specifically that ‘His very name is Jealous and He is jealous about His relationship with you?’ Let’s clear up any misconception that God is insecure. When You are the Creator of all things, including time, you’re secure in Who You are. So good news, we have THE God who is jealous for us. He surrounds us. He is our protector. He mourns when we suffer through life experiences and relationships that are not of Him. He loves us enough that He gives us free will and choice because he wants a genuine relationship chosen by both of us, Him for us and us for Him.
If you have ever witnesses a momma bear with her cubs, literally and figuratively (a mother with her children), who feels their children are being threatened in any way, the fury that they will unleash is amazing and frankly, frightening. Megan West Mullins will come out of her skin on anyone or anything she senses is threatening her family. We call this “Ohio Megan” and it is fierce, fast and complete. We understand the depth and breadth of her love in these moments. You do not want to be on the receiving end! This is a healthy human jealousy ingrained in her by the Father above and is woven into the fabric of her DNA. Never wavering, never ending, never conceding. Absolute.
How much more our Father in Heaven. God proclaimed His jealousy to Moses to confirm to His son, His leader, His torch bearer, His children’s human protector, His jealousy as affirmation that “I have your back, your front, your side to side, your forever.” Trust Me. Our jealously and zealously loving Father is absolute in His protection and love for us. He desires our one-on-one relationship with Him above all else. He tells us, “have no other gods other than me” because they are fake and they dilute our relationship with Him. Don’t think you have other gods before Him? Take inventory of how and where you spend your time and what invades your thought and energy. Remove anything that stands between you and the Father who always and only desires what is best and least limiting to our relationship with Him and our purpose by Him. The best news you will hear today is that God loves you. The better news is this is a truism every day of our lives in this time-blip of human life on Earth and in the eternity that God has created for His children…us.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8 (NLT)