Why Is It Okay for God to Be Jealous and Wrathful?

 October 23, 2024

Wednesday

Sometimes Christians get confused. On the one hand, they are told to be like God. On the other, they are told that it is okay for God to be jealous and have wrath but they can't. The problem is that they have determined that jealousy and wrath are always bad. They can't see that God is in a whole different category by Himself. 

Those in the military would be appalled by someone claiming medals and service that they neither earned nor served. They would not deserve the honor that they are claiming. This is true of us. We do not deserve the honor and praise because we are not God. He is the One worthy of praise. We aren't. Thus, it would be wrong for us to take what is actually God's. Therefore, He is a jealous God. He does not share His glory. It is His because He is also just. It is right that He has it.

When it comes to His wrath people do not realize that since all have sinned and, therefore corrupted His greatest creation. I suppose someone who is a great painter might understand that a masterpiece that is vandalized requires justice. The creator of that masterpiece has had his greatest creation corrupted beyond repair. The creator's wrath would be justified. We are God's masterpiece that we have corrupted. We have spray painted on this masterpiece. We have taken knives and cut the canvas. We have smeared mud on the surface. We deserve the wrath.

But God was not content with simply allowing His creation to be thrown upon the trash heap. He sought a way to restore us to our pre-corrupted status. The wages of sin is death. This is God's wrath for us. It is much greater than physical death. It is the continued condition of being far from Him. It is one day being thrown into a lake of fire that will never consume us. 

Jesus, God's Son, paid the price for us to abate the wrath we have waiting. We submit ourselves to Him in such a way that it changes who we are. Faith is acting on something believed. We repent of our sins and make a commitment to believe in Jesus as the One who took the wrath we have earned. 

So, God is jealous and wrathful but these are not the characteristics we should primarily see. His mercy comes to those who call upon Him. His love is everlasting.