On Feline Jealousy

We got ourselves a new kitten the other day. His name is Corporal Nobby Nobbs, or “Nobby” for short. He is the cutest little black cat I’ve ever seen, and to top it off, he has no tail. That is correct—a cat with no tail. In our opinion, he looks a like a little bear running around with pointy ears. For pictures of Nobby, please see Katie’s blog.

The cat is crazy. What he lacks in a tail, he definitely makes up for in spunk and excitement. He jumps around like a little rabbit, except for the fact that rabbits don’t usually bite and scratch you with pointy teeth and claws. Nevertheless, he’s not bad. He actually curled up in my lap and slept on a couple of separate occasions yesterday. He would just look at me with his tired little eyes and doze off. It was precious. We really like him.

One individual in our household, though, does not share our love and appreciation of our new furry friend. Our other cat, Mrs. Reynolds (whom I have dubbed “Duds”) hates Nobby with a passion. She warily watches the little kitten wherever he goes and growls and hisses at him if Nobby gets too close. What’s worse, her anger toward the kitten has spread towards us, and she refuses to allow us near her. Anytime I approach her or attempt to pet her, Mrs. Reynolds growls like a rabid tiger and swats at me. She is quite ferocious. Hopefully, though, with time, she will get over it and accept our new family addition.

In watching how Mrs. Reynolds treats the kitten, I am reminded of the fact that our God is a jealous God. Just like Mrs. can't stand to see us show affection towards Nobby, it breaks God’s heart when we turn from him and show affection towards other “gods.” In Mrs. Reynolds’ mind, there is not room in our house for more than one cat, and she has already staked her claim to that position. No one else may intrude upon that. God is the same way. He demands that we love him only and allow no room for anything or anyone else to steal our affections.

There is a difference between Mrs. Reynolds and God, though. Mrs. will eventually get over her jealousy of Nobby and her anger toward us. At some point in the near future, although she may not like him, she will tolerate Nobby as long as we don’t ignore her. Then, after a few months, I’m sure they’ll be fine with one another for the most part. God, on the other hand, will never tolerate our affection towards anything else. He will never get over his jealousy, and he is completely justified in that. God will not settle for us showing some affection to him and the rest towards something else. He wants all of us, and he deserves all of us.

We’re not going to get rid of Nobby, and Mrs. Reynolds better hurry up and realize that. However, we as people, need to get rid of anything that steals our live and attention away from the God who deserves it all.

Our God is jealous, and there will never be room for another god, no matter how cute it may be.