Is Jealousy a Sin?

Some time back I had seen a version of a verse in 1 Corinthians 13 rendered as love “…is not jealous.” The KJV, NKJV and YLT does not have it. Even the loosely rendered NIV NT does not have it.

A portion of verse 4 reads in the KJV as “charity (agape, love) envieth not.” The Greek word zeloo (dzay-lo’-o) is translated here as “envy.” The definition from Strong’s(1) reads 1) to burn with zeal 

1a) to be heated or to boil with envy, hatred, anger 

1a1) in a good sense, to be zealous in the pursuit of good 

1b) to desire earnestly, pursue 

1b1) to desire one earnestly, to strive after, busy one’s self about him 

1b2) to exert one’s self for one (that he may not be torn from me) 

1b3) to be the object of the zeal of others, to be zealously sought after 

1c) to envy

While that might be close to our idea of jealousy, a similar word is closer for some,  zelos (dzay’-los), which can mean…

1) excitement of mind, ardour, fervour of spirit 

1a) zeal, ardour in embracing, pursuing, defending anything 

1a1) zeal in behalf of, for a person or thing 

1a2) the fierceness of indignation, punitive zeal 

1b) an envious and contentious rivalry, jealousy

Zeloo and not zelos is used in verse 4. Besides, while many view that chapter as “The Great Love Chapter,” it is really dealing with love in relation to the gifts and operations of the Holy Spirit (note 1 Corinthians 12 and 14) and not heterosexual romantic relationships.

Whether they like it or not, some might be shocked and “taken aback” at the fact that our God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14): “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” A mouse-over on the Strong’s reference number supplied in my Online Bible program for the word “jealous” in this verse reads as follows(2):  

07067 qanna’ kan-naw’

from 07065, Greek 2581 adj; {See TWOT on 2038 @@ ‘2038b’} 

AV-jealous 6; 6 

1) jealous (only of God) 

Though the above states kan-naw’ is “only of God,” other variations of that word are used not only in reference to God’s emotions, but to that of man’s(3).

While human jealousy is described as not very pleasant, (Proverbs 6:32-35, Song of Solomon 8:6), I see no place where it is condemned as an emotion nor described as a sin.

In fact, by the Holy Spirit, Paul mentions godly jealousy (2 Corinthians 11:2), “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” The terminology there somewhat reflects the terminology found in the Old Testament when God in Ezekiel 16 describes His jealousy in terms of human jealousy.

Jealousy is closely associated with anger. Given the fact it is written (Ephesians 4:26-27, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:  Neither give place to the devil,” we can safely surmise this would apply to jealousy too.

Essentially God desires us to deal with such emotions whereby we reach some level of resolve without the problem festering from day to day to the point we would sin. This is done by direction of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14) and not us resorting to our tempestuous flesh.

Notice I wrote, “some level of resolve.” While there may be times we can resolve a questionable situation “before the sun sets,” sometimes the problem lingers due to the actions (or inaction) of another party.

For example, let us say Mary, who is married to Bill finds out another woman has been trying to get her husband’s attention at work. Bill has said nothing to Mary (he is a man of few words anyway). Unless I am unaware of any other Scripture dealing with jealousy, it is proper for her to sense jealousy. I personally would consider it commendable since it shows she cares and is protective of the sacred relationship with her spouse. However, her first stop is at the feet of Christ seeking His direction. Something like this is a great time of testing, for by it we are trained (often through trial and much error) to discern between our natural human emotion and the leading of God’s Holy Spirit.

There are a number of options. Ask Bill. Find out from Bill by somewhat “beating around the bush.” Talk to the other woman. Try to find something out from others. Simply wait (upon the Lord) and see. Maybe it is a combination of these or something else. Regardless, the direction of what we do and how we do it (it might include holy anger) must come from God through His Holy Spirit. While we may, by His grace, curb any violent reaction, we can still sin by not doing His will.

Seek after the leading of God. If the matter cannot be immediately resolved then nestle into meekness (which is not weakness), being constantly on watch to hear from God. Anything else is a shortcut that might just stunt your spiritual growth.

One might disagree with all of this on the basis that trust between a man and a woman is not being upheld (i.e., you should trust your husband / wife). Looking at what the Scriptures state, there is only One that we can completely trust, and that is God. Even the most solid Christian has to fend off temptation to which, in this life, he is never immune.

I have written this article with the idea that many of my readers personally know God through Christ. While the information given above might work with a non-disciple, one who truly knows Christ will be given the ability to follow through with what the Word of God shows us. Not only that, they will be able to sense the direction from God that they need.

If you have not surrendered your life to Christ, I encourage you to do so now. Ask God to forgive and cleanse you from your sins, and invite Christ into the center of your being to be your King. From there, grow in Him by reading and studying His Word, worship, prayer, and by obeying and serving Him.

Notes:

1 – All mentioned in regard to “Strong’s” is from a computer version of Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance by James Strong that is available through the Online Bible (OLB) (North American). The European link is embedded in this sentence.

2 – I have omitted the Hebrew and Greek letters shown in the computer pop-up that I observed in the OLB program due to the possibility that they might not display correctly for a reader’s computer.

3 – Used in the rightful traditional sense, denoting both genders.

The Lord willing, this article will be part of my Bible GemLight series as garnet003.

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