Not all jealousy is a sin, strictly speaking. It is not a sin for a husband to be jealous of his wife, in the sense that he has the right to expect and demand marital faithfulness from her. Also vice-versa. I believe this is the type of jealousy that God is referring to when He describes himself. He is not prepared to tolerate us "cheating" on Him by worshiping other things in His place or even along side Him. God doesn't share.<br><br>The difference between covetousness and jealousy is that covetousness is wanting to have something you don't have, like someone else's wife, and jealousy is wanting to keep something that you already have, like your own wife.<br><br>We are used to thinking of jealousy as a bad thing because, especially in dating relationships, we can sometimes demand more of someone than we have a right to. A man who takes his date to the prom doesn't generally have the right to expect her not to dance with anyone else all night. This unreasonable demand can lead to anger, suspicion, paranoia, untrusting, and acting out anger in ways that are all sins in their own right. This is obviously not God's behavior towards us, so it's a completely different type of jealousy. A good jealousy.<br><br>Similarly, there are other things that are sins for us that are not sins for God. Pride, for instance. If I say, "I am the greatest thing there is," I would be guilty of the sin of pride. If God said, "I am the greatest thing there is," He would be telling the truth. And truthfulness is one of God's attributes, so He cannot not be truthful. Pride is only a problem for those of us who are less than God thinking that we are more than we actually are. If you are God, pride is deserved and is par for the course.<br><br><br><br>marcus
