Jealousy

My mom and I have been talking a lot about jealousy and how it can basically be tied to most of our problems. She reminded me of the 10th commandment:

"You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s."

What is interesting about this quote is the fact that a man's wife is treated just as much of a piece of property as is his "maidservant" or "ox." After reading "When Women Were Priests," is it pretty much apparent to me that men viewed their wives as one of their possessions, and the wife was to be kept within the "private" realm and hidden from all other men.

But anyways, it is especially intriguing to think that jealousy basically gives rise to commandments #6-#9: You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

If you really think about it, murder is a product of jealousy because we have an extreme hatred for those that we think are better than us/have more of what we want.  Adultery is basically coveting someone else's wife, stealing from someone can be because you are jealous of their possessions, and accusing someone of a false wrongdoing can also be an underhanded scheme to bring their downfall that stems from some sort jealousy. Essentially, by living your life out of fear, you begin to believe and fear that your life is lacking in friendship or love or whatever it may be. By having a mindset that there is only so much of these things in the world, then you begin to feel jealous towards those who you think have too much of it. This breeds stealing, murder, adultery, and false accusations to bring their downfall.

Another interesting point is the fact that in commandment #2, God says "For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God." Does God really demonstrate such human traits such as jealousy? Even in his supposed perfection? I find it fascinating that humans chose to personify God as a being that lives out of fear, just someone else also competing for love and survival.

If we could only recognize that most of our actions and thoughts stem from fear, we could work to transcend them and live much happier and fulfilling lives. We wouldn't have to worry so much about not getting enough love.