Do Away With Jealousy

Scripture Texts: Genesis 37; Acts 7:8-9; Matthew 27:1-18

Joseph's brothers were jealous of him, so they sold him off as a slave. The religious leaders were jealous of Jesus so they condemned him to die. Jealousy causes people to do all sorts of things that they might not normally do. There are some theories that Judas was acting out of the same jealousy as the religious leaders when he betrayed Jesus.

Jealousy shows up in every relationship to some extent. When it comes to a marriage it can show up in many different ways that range from overt to subtle. Overt jealousy is often easier to deal with as it is clear and can be confronted easily. Subtle jealousy is much more challenging. Subtle jealousy shows up in being jealous for your spouses time and attention. It can be jealous of the conversations your spouse has with other people. It could even be as subtle as being jealous of the way your spouse is able to use their time.

Every effort must be made to identify and do away with jealousy. After all it is one of the big ten given to Moses on the mountain. The root of jealousy will erode the quality of your marriage, or any relationship. Jealousy left unchecked can easily become bitterness, which can create distance between people. Bitterness grows into resentment which grows into withdrawal. This spiral does not lead to any place good.

If the brothers would have not been jealous of Joseph the story might have been very different. The same is true of the religious leaders and Jesus. If the story of your marriage is defined by jealousy it is time to write a different ending. Take time to identify any root of jealousy you have with your spouse and then ruthlessly eliminate it by talking about it and choosing a different path.