Could Jealousy be a good thing???

In the Ten Commandments we are told not to covet they neighbor.  We are told that to have jealousy in our hearts and minds for something that someone else has is a sin.  We are to be happy for people who are blessed and receive answers to their prayers.  We are not to look at them with lust of their belongings or their spouses.  

Now, what I am going to say may be a bit radical to some people but for some reason this makes sense to my heart and my spirit.   Try to stay with me here and don’t jump off ship to quickly, I promise I will be going somewhere with this thought.

In Romans 11:11-12 Paul says.  So I ask, Have they stumbled so as to fall (to their utter spiritual ruin, irretrievably)?  By no means!  But through their false step and transgression salvation (has come) to the Gentiles, so as to arouse Israel (to see and feel what they forfeited) and so to make them jealous.  (12) Now if their stumbling (their lapse, their transgression) has so enriched the world (at large), and if (Israel’s) failure means such riches for the Gentiles, think what enrichment and greater advantage will follow their full reinstatement!

These two verses got me excited!  I mean I spoke out loud over these two verses.   I was urged to write in the margins of my Bible for verse 11, Hit Bottom and for verse 12 I couldn’t get the words restoration and examples out of my head. 

Here is the breakdown.  Israel is having a really hard time understanding that we come to God not by our works but by his Grace and Mercy, only!  They are not allowing their ability to fall to the wayside and be humble enough to allow the Grace and Mercy supplied to us by God, through Christ, to be their Salvation.  This is not pleasing to God.  In fact this is the opposite.  This is rude and disrespectful to God, to use our terms.  This behavior is sidestepping the very generous gift that God gave us with Jesus, and taking His Glory from Him, and trying to place it on the people of Israel.  What we know about God is, He a jealous God, and He wants the Glory!  He will not share the Glory with you or allow you to claim the Glory for your own.

This verse is saying that though Israel has been very displeasing to God, and has hurt the heart of God, with their disrespect, still they are not beyond forgiveness.   They can still rectify their wrongs and by using the Gentiles, who have gladly accepted the gift of Jesus Christ as their Savior and atonement, the Israelites are getting to see what they are missing. 

God is using Jealousy here to stir the Israelites!!

In verse 12 Paul is saying, now if the fall of the Israelites has stirred up the rest of the world to get their acts together, then that’s great!  It’s a good thing for the rest of us to learn a lesson off of the mistakes of others, so we don’t have to follow down their same roads.   And in the meantime, if Israel is seeing the blessings coming to the Gentiles this will stir in them their desire to rectify their wrongs with God.  This will take the arrogance and inflated sense of self that the Israel people have, and cause them to repent.  This will force them to be humble and come into right standing with God, and finally accept that not by their good works, or works at all, can they enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only through the gift of Jesus Christ.  All Glory and Honor goes back to God.  

And there is your restoration!

So when we are told not to covet or be jealous of someone, does it mean only their blessings?  Are we allowed to be jealous of someone else’s relationship with God?  No, but what I do think is that God will place people in your life to show you what you can have.  God will place someone who has something that you desire or something that you lack spiritually, and use them to raise you up. 

God will link up a new believer with an older believer to show them what they can have to keep them stimulated and guided them into a deeper relationship with Him.  Not to covet the relationship they have, but to show them what they are missing, and what they themselves, can have.

God will take a situation of a Saved person and put them in the life of a back slider, or unsaved person, to light up their world.  They will suddenly see all of their holes and flaws, because they are standing beside someone opposite of them.   This can take the person who is a backslider or unsaved and bring them back to God.  This can make them see the life that is in the believer and cause them to desire what they have and RESTORE them to God.

God has and is doing both of these situations in my life currently.  I guess maybe that’s why I was filled with excitement and hope over these two verses.   This brings light into a dark place in my heart.  This is speaking to the place that has concerns and is unsure and says, it’s possible.   This is confirming what I already believed and showing me that restoration and change is possible, for everyone.

There is a bottom that people need to hit, and every one’s bottom is different.  Some people really have to smack the ground hard before they realize what is wrong in their lives and some people just need to tap the ground once, to make a change.  Whatever your bottom may be, however hard you need to hit the ground to realize that your life needs to change,  I hope you can rest in knowing that God will always be there to restore you to the person He purposed you to be.

God is the God of second chances, and like we see here in Romans 11:11-12 God was giving the people of Israel a second chance to change their ways, and accept Him, and He will do the same thing for you, as well.    

When someone new enters your life that is the opposite of you, but takes a genuine interest in your life, don’t push them away.  God is probably using them, to show you, what you are missing and what you can have too, if you change your ways.  Don’t allow the devil to condemn you, allow their life to raise you up, and ask them for help, that’s why God put them there in the first place.   Restoration is for everyone… including you!!