Jealousy is all the fun you think they had. | Erica Jong: American writer and feminist, 1942
Jealous people poison their own banquet and then eat it. | Anon
A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity. | Robert A. Heinlein: American science fiction writer, 1907-1988
In jealousy there is more of self-love than love. | François de la Rochefoucault
Jealousy is always born with love, but does not always die with it. | François de la Rochefoucault
Jealousy is nothing more than the fear of abandonment. | Anon
Jealousy is that pain which a person feels from the apprehension that he or she is not equally loved by the person whom he or she entirely loves. | Joseph Addison - English essayist, poet, dramatist and statesman: 1672-1719
Jealousy, that dragon which slays love under the pretense of keeping it alive. | Havelock Ellis
A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS
What do you think jealousy is? How would you describe the word, or better still, the feeling of jealousy ...?
In the Hebrew Scriptures we read: “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” [Exodus 20:4-5] and in the Christian Scriptures we read, “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy.” [2 Corinthians 11:2] What do you think the word “jealousy” means in this context?
I've wondered about that. Most instances of jealousy I've seen were little fits of sibling rivalry. A jealousy I've known was rooted in envy ... her ice cream is "more" then mine ... that sort of thing. It doesn't seem possible that the creator of the universe, the Lord your God, would be "jealous" as jealous is commonly construed.
Jealous, in the scriptural context, is intended to be understood as zealous vigilance.
zealous - marked by active interest and enthusiasm;
avid
(enthusiastic - having or showing great excitement and interest)
vigilance - watchfulness or readiness for danger.
English needs more words. This week I have looked up definitions of several words and I'm finding turquoise where I thought to see cerulean.
God, portrayed as "active ... enthusiastically watchful ... mindful ... ready to address the dangers to my soul" ... wow, totally different then a pouty little insecure needy "god".
As it is more commonly used, I'd think of jealously as envy/entitlement flowing, flooding, seeking to destroy.
No comments:
Post a Comment