Message!

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." - Exodus 20:17 - NIV

This caught my eye today, and forgive me if I'm missing some detail about what time of year it is and why everyone is so into the commandments right now, but it had me thinking. Its extremely easy to be disgusted and roll one's neck with a hearty "mmmhmmm" when talking about someone Else's jealousy. There's always someone who either boldly shows it or poorly hides the fact that they have hate in their blood, envy in their smiles and daggers in their handshakes when it comes to you. It is easy, being a woman, to sit back with a girlfriend and cluck and chatter all night about some envious person who has no reason to be nasty to you other than the green eyed monster. However...

Isn't it interesting how that green eyed beast finds his way into everyone's minds, making you (Yes even YOU!) a comfy host for jealous thoughts, spiteful feelings, and devious plans. Isn't it interesting how we are quick to make excuses for such behavior, just shortly after we verbally crucify someone else for the same "sickness". Isn't that what it is? Its like a sickness. It festers if you just let it sit. It grows and infects your mental capacity to concentrate on more important things. You find yourself wasting more time than normal, for the satisfaction of some menial task like gossiping, or sabotage. Shouldn't we pity the person that goes through such inner torture? Shouldn't we pray for their deliverance from such a miserable stage? Wouldn't we want someone to pray for us, should - heaven forbid - we find ourselves in the predicament of "wishing we had..." or "obsessing over what ifs.." lamenting the "if only's" based on what someone Else's life held for them?

I'm sure if we look deep enough, maybe not so deep for some of us, there is someone, something, some worldly something that someone else has that we covet. I don't think I know anyone, and don't believe there is such thing as someone who is perfectly content with what they don't have. I usually don't get too deep into religion, but the idea of jealousy is one of my most bothersome pet peeves, to the point where it is disgusting to me! So much so that I will quit ANY relationship if I so much as think I may be jealous, because it bothers me that much for someone to have that kind of power over anyone... and this quotation of the commandment got me to thinking - am I wrong for that? Can I really be repulsed by something that is obviously inescapable, being a human being?

Maybe if I looked at it as a human test, or phase that is necessary. Maybe in order to give someone a hands-on lesson in what really IS important in their own paths, they have to experience being temporarily blinded by what is in someone else's path. What they want must be dangled before them by one of their peers in order for them to really taste it. Maybe during that blindness, once a person realizes how much time they've spent away from what is important and how far they've deviated from their own path to chase this thing - maybe that is what finally jars a person from the stupor...

And then there's one more thing I wonder - and I'll let you go after this I promise - what does God expect from us in this arena? If its human to have jealousy, then are we to simply ask for forgiveness every time it happens? Or are we to somehow avoid it altogether? Maybe we are only supposed to make sure it doesn't consume us. And even deeper still, maybe there's no reason at all, for this particular sin. No lesson in mind, no expectation other than to get over the hurdle... no destination or growth intended.

But I highly doubt it.