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God would not share his place with anything. He alone deserves the worship of the people he has created. Human beings are created in the image of God, and they are to bow to the one in whose image they are made. They are not to bow to the images of fish, land beasts, or heavenly beings. God made mankind in his image so that mankind might worship.

God is a jealous God. He jealously wants us to worship only him. Jealousy in human relationships has to do with someone being threatened and insecure in his or her relationship. This insecurity makes the person always feel like he or she will lose the person with whom he or she is in a relationship to a better rival. But God's jealousy is not like that. There is no better rival to God. God is the best. "The jealousy of God is the measure of his zeal for our happiness in him. His anger at our spiritual adultery, at our having other lovers besides him, is a reflex both of his zeal for his own worth, but also of his zeal for our joy. If we turn away from him as the greatest treasure, we turn away from our own greatest pleasure" [John].

God wants us to be happy. He is jealous for our happiness. He knows that outside him, we will not be happy. When we choose not to be happy in him, he will punish us for our choice by giving us what we want.

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