Jealous Children and Parents

Jealousy being a blessing seems to only be possible in the strength of character represented by Yahweh. The commandment He gave Israel regarding making idols was justified to them with the statement, “…because I, Yahweh, your God, am a jealous God…” (Exodus 20:5). The human version of jealously is pretty well manifested by Joseph’s brothers regarding his dreams (Genesis 37:10-11).

Joseph’s brothers being jealous of him is a peer-level bitterness. Much worse is a generational manifestation. I have seen people lose sleep over the fact that their children are more blessed or honored or better paid than they are.

When we watch members of the generation younger than us do foolish things and not suffer for it, we can get jealous. This is especially true if we suffered much for each of our errors. Each generation has a different set of values and experiences and circumstances. Each generation’s influence on the next one is different than the generation prior to them had on them.

In each generation, Yahweh does something that takes His people and His purposes further along than the work He did in the previous generation. Usually, each generation curses the generations before it and after it, because it is so rare that one generation has any respect for what came before it or after it. Insults abound. Jealousy abounds.

When we are more interested in blessing our mothers and fathers and our sons and daughters than we are in getting credit for anything that happens in our generation, we become a link in the Kingdom of Heaven between three generations, allowing something to be built that can last for eternity.