Are you “jealous” for the Lord? What would that look like? Would that be okay?
There are many positive attributes or traits that people can
aspire to, but “jealousy” is not usually one of them. So it may come as a surprise to many that not
only is God described as jealous, but “Jealous” is actually said to be one of
the names of God! Exodus 34:14 tells us
“Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a
jealous God.”
To our human ears, this can sound demeaning, even
pathetic. How can God identify with such
a vain human emotion? A man who is so
insecure or egotistical that he thinks the whole world, or at least another
person, should honor, serve, worship and adore him needs to have his head
examined. Who does he think he is, God?
And that’s just the point.
He isn’t God, because if he were he would indeed deserve such
honor. God, the creator and sustainer of
all that exists, can’t be judged as if He were a mere man. Why is it wrong to take the life of
another? Is it not because we aren’t
God, and only the giver of life has the right to take it? Why is our human anger so often consider to
be vanity? Is it not because we lack the
wisdom and patience to know and understand the big picture that only God can
see?
I talked about this with a man named Mike during an outreach
conversation while shopping at Target.
Mike describes himself as a theist, meaning he believes in a higher
power of some sort, but he was highly critical of the God of the Bible for many
reason such as this. The Bible describes
God acting in ways we would have every right to criticize were he merely a
fallible human with very limited understanding.
Many people have heard such criticisms in the form of long tirades of
name-calling, accusations, and the judging of God by the likes of Richard
Dawkins and other modern day atheists.
I’m pretty sure Mike has heard and subscribed to these
criticisms as well, even though he still calls himself a theist. Maybe this is because of he had faced death
within the last year due to a serious health scare. I’ve heard it said that “there are no
atheists in foxholes”. I take this to
mean that the God that can be so convenient to avoid during better times
suddenly becomes a lifeline to those who find themselves facing their own
mortality.
So Mike believes in a “god” of sorts, but can’t stomach the
God of Christianity. After his serious health
ordeal, he could relate to the biblical account of Job and the afflictions he
faced at the hands of the devil but with God’s permission. And Mike asked me, sincerely I believe, how
could God be so pathetic to allow such suffering, especially because of what
seemed like such a meaningless squabble with the devil?
But the god atheists and other sceptics reject is too
small! He is often evaluated as if he is
just an egotistical old man. They don’t
realize the one who is really egotistical is the one who thinks God can be
understood and evaluated as if He has the same types of limitations we
have. God tells us as much in Isaiah
55: “For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord. “As the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my
thoughts than your thoughts.”
In Job 38-39 God asks Job over 70 unanswerable questions,
all designed to show the vast gulf of understanding between man and God. He begins by asking “Who is this that darkens
counsel, By words without knowledge?
Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set
its measurements? Since you know. Or who
stretched the line on it?”
The questions go on and on, overwhelming the honest reader
with the absolute wisdom of God and the ignorance of man. Compared to the various cheap substitutes we
try to put in the place of God, yes, God
is jealous, and for good reason, because He is God, and should be respected as
such. And God’s people should be jealous
too, when we see our loved ones and others chasing after those cheap
substitutes, disrespecting and missing out on God in the process. Ultimately, jealousy is a sign of caring, and
it is no pathetic emotion if the object of our caring is truly worthwhile.
Thanks, Mike, for allowing me to record our
conversation. It can be seen HERE at https://youtu.be/ehBdYiCl4rQ
No comments:
Post a Comment