Jealousy As Inspiration

The more I think about it, the more that I think that jealousy isn't necessarily a bad thing. Maybe it's just an emotion we all feel. The key is what you do with it. I think God wants to use jealousy within us to push us to excel. If we're jealous of someone else's success, then we need to work harder to achieve it. If we're jealous of someone else's marriage, then we need to work harder on our own. Jealousy can be extremely powerful, use it wisely. JM

Matthew 22:34-40

Jesus boils all of the commands in the Mosaic law down to just two, and they are still incredibly difficult for me. Love your neighbor as yourself is just so insanely hard. I've been trying something that Mike Yaconelli suggested by reminding myself that each person I encounter may be the only Jesus I'll ever meet. It's kind of a cool thought, and it helps you really realize the value of each individual.
But I also struggle on the other part of what Jesus is talking about here. We're to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. My soul is easy, because I've given it to Jesus. My mind is easy because that's how I fell in love with Jesus because I think he is truth. The toughest part for me is my heart. Sometimes it is tough for me to be passionate about Jesus.
The speaker at this program we went to tonight talked about loving Jesus and letting that be all we're trying to do. Not doing things for God so that we can get recognition, but simply because we love Jesus.
I don't really struggle with wanting recognition or anything like that, but a lot of times I struggle with doing things for God because I like to do those things. For instance, leading worship is fun, but I can't always say that I do it because I love Jesus. I also love music, I love the idea of worship, I love the mystery of God, I love the creativity involved in worship experiences. All of those things are good, but they aren't because I love Jesus. JM