Research says most hear 30,000 words a day, and speak 7,000 words a day with some (like my family!) speaking many more. Stephen King encourages new writers to WRITE 1,000 words a day. That’s 40,000 words a day. That being said, when was the last time you looked up a word to ensure you were using it correctly? (Google “ensure vs. insure,” for example.)
This morning I was trying to remember the difference between ENVY and JEALOUSY. English speakers constantly get it wrong, using the words interchangeably, though they have different meanings.
Envy is when I want what you have: “I envy David who bought a new truck.” Jealousy is when I fear losing what I have: “I am jealous of Brian who studies with my girlfriend.” Another distinction: envy requires two parties, but jealousy requires three. If A fears girlfriend B may begin dating C, then A is jealous of C.
Now that we know they are NOT the same, which word does God use to describe Himself? Jealous or envious?
“For I, the Lord thy God, am a JEALOUS God” Exodus 20:5.
God is jealous; He fears losing us to a third party.
“Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you imagine that the scripture has no meaning when it says ‘God yearns jealously for the spirit that He has placed in us’?” James 4:4-5.
God describes Himself as jealous.
And if jealous, who are the three parties?
(1) GOD is jealous that
(2) HIS CHILDREN
(3) will forsake Him for the WORLD.
The third party is the world. Do you love the world? Are you FLIRTING with the world? Are you spending too much time with the world? You are IN A RELATIONSHIP with God. Your days of courting false gods are over. No more flirting with the gods of this world.
God, thank You for loving us so much that You desire us jealously.
ΑΩ
Household Words: 