Love Doesn’t Boil
The verse has been quoted a couple of times now, and you are probably quite sure that isn’t what it says. For those who are joining us now, here’s the verse again:
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant. —I Corinthians 13:4, NASV
The last two articles have looked at the fact that love is patient and kind, and we dug under the surface a little to find more meaning, significance and application. Often, one of the first things that I do in a scripture study is to look at the words in the original language. The version quoted above says that love is not jealous, and others say that it does not envy. The word translated as jealous or envious is the Greek word zéloó, which is an onomatopoeia that imitates the sound of boiling water. In a literal sense, it means to bubble over. In a figurative sense, it signifies burning with zeal. In scripture, the word is used in both a positive and negative sense. Revelation 3:19 says to “…be zealous and repent.” The word translated “zealous” is a form of the same word, as is the word translated “earnestly desire”, in 1 Corinthians 14:1, where it says to “…earnestly desire spiritual gifts.” Another passage translates the word as “covet”.
Boiling water boils because of the heat applied, and when it boils, it is stirred up with turbulence. The picture I see here with regard to envy, is a stirring up of our spirit, something that burns within, and causes turbulent emotion. Thinking further, I have the picture of a pressure cooker, where this bubbling is suppressed and contained. If there is no safety valve for this, it can lead to an explosion.
Love prevents this. It is not a matter of wrapping up our feelings of jealousy, it is a matter of not burning and boiling in the first place. It was mentioned in the articles about love being patient and kind that a lack of patience or kindness is a symptom of a lack of love. The same is true here. Scripture doesn’t say that love tries not to be envious, it is not envious.
Here is an example from personal experience: I lived for several years in a mobile home that was feeling its age. There were leaks in the roof and holes rotting in the floors. Our growing family was finding it cramped. We were praying for God to provide us with something that would be suitable for our needs. I will admit that there were times when I would see what someone else had, and feel at least a twinge of jealousy.
It came about, however, that our family had the opportunity to do some cleaning in a house that a friend had just had built, in preparation for their moving in. The home was beautiful, and part of me started to think about my home, and the fact that it wasn’t as nice. I am glad to say that this didn’t last long, as I began to see the new house from my friend’s perspective, and found myself rejoicing for my friend and his family. Looking back, I realize that my happiness sprang from the fact that I truly loved them.
In our own families, love will rejoice in one another’s good fortune. Without love, jealousy and envy are likely. The Bible mentions several examples where this was the case. These include Cain, who was jealous of the approval that God had of Abel’s sacrifice. Rachel was jealous of her sister Leah, because Leah had children and Rachel had none. Joseph’s brothers were jealous because of the fact that their father bestowed greater affection on him than on the rest. In each of these examples, the jealous person was engaging in a kind of competition, rather than rejoicing appropriately.
Let us look at jealousy as a symptom of a more basic problem. If we aren’t rejoicing at the good fortune and blessings that others receive, let us ask God to put love in our hearts. When He does, we will rejoice. To ask, we must have a desire for love. It is God who commands us to love, He is the one who gives us the desire to obey, and it is God who gives us the ability to obey.
Come join us next week as we take a look at the next few words of 1 Corinthians 13:4, where it says, “Love does not brag”.
