Create Jealousy: Mission Accomplished

The fact that jealousy distorts reality is well known by those whose objective is to make others feel its pain. A woman confided to her friend, “If I want my husband to get in line, all I have to do is make him jealous.” Deliberately creating jealousy is dishonest and seldom achieves a worthy goal. Deliberately creating jealousy is also sinful.

 

There’s always danger of going too far in creating jealousy. Anyone deliberately made to feel jealous will know the pain of abandonment and distrust. Distrust eventually causes love to diminish and lose its power to control. Eventually jealousy leads to revenge and permanent withdrawal from a relationship; then grief comes to all involved.

A college student recounted how she lost her boyfriend when she made him feel jealous. "All I wanted to do was make sure he loved me. Now he will not let me apologize or forgive me." Jealousy is not kind, gentle or patient. It is not filled with joy, long-suffering or self-control, but God’s love and true love include all of these. 

Sin --> Grief and Loss

Those individuals who practice deception as a means of satisfying their ego demands eventually push their tactics too far and consequently end up in harm’s way. When Rebekah and Jacob used their manipulative skills to steal Esau’s blessing, they were shocked and panicked to learn of Esau’s intent to kill Jacob as an act of revenge.

  

In the panic, Rebekah managed for Jacob to be sent to her brother’s home hundreds of miles away and carried out her plan under the cover of lies. Rebekah and Jacob would not confess their deceit or seek forgiveness, but continued building a bridge to grief and loss. Jacob would never again see his mother or father alive.

  

From Esau’s perspective, he lost out in every way imaginable. Earlier he had married two Canaanite women who were unacceptable. Now he would go to his uncle Ishmael to find a wife who was acceptable. At times it seems that redemption is out of reach, but God is patient and will wait for His perfect plan to be activated. Is God waiting for you?