Dodger: Right, then. I can understand that, but I don't really think it makes a whole lot of...oh! Sorry. I was just talking on the phone.
Lilly: Who was that?
Dodger: Just an old friend.
Lilly: Old friend? Who?
Dodger: You guys never had a chance to meet, actually.
Lilly: Well, you didn't need to hang up on him.
Dodger: Her, actually.
Lilly: Her?
Dodger: Yeah. Her name is Zippy.
Lilly: Zippy?
Dodger: Short for Zipporah. That's kind of a mouthful, so I just call her Zippy.
Lilly: Oh. Why didn't you mention her before?
Dodger: She never came up in conversation, I guess.
Lilly: Well, you could have at least said she existed. Does she know about me?
Dodger: Sure! I've told her tons about you.
Lilly: So she knows all about me, and I didn't even know she existed until now. Thanks a lot.
Dodger: Hey...it's not on purpose or anything. I live right near you, but she's in another state, so when we talk I can't just chat with her about what we've been doing, which I can actually do with you.
Lilly: Well, yeah, but...couldn't you have told me you have another friend who knows all about me?
Dodger: I guess it was just a miscommunication.
Lilly: Ehm-hm.
Dodger: I never meant to keep her a secret or anything. Hey, please don't let it get to you.
Zippy: Yeah, Lilly. Dodger meant nothing by it.
Lilly: Who's that?!?
Dodger: Oh, Zippy! I'm sorry, I must have forgot to hang up!
Zippy: It's perfectly fine. No problem. Lilly, it's great to actually hear you. I always hoped I'd get a chance to meet you, even over the phone.
Lilly: Hi.
Zippy: Dodger actually didn't tell me about you until about three weeks ago.
Lilly: Oh?
Zippy: Yeah. I asked him what he'd been up to and he said "Just hanging out with Lilly and some other friends" and then I stopped him and asked who that even was and then he told me about you, so, it took a while. It wasn't personal. Really.
Lilly: ...wow. Well, thanks, Zippy. I, um, guess I owe you both an apology.
Dodger: Nah. You didn't do anything. It was really my fault, actually.
Zippy: I wasn't even bothered. You have nothing to apologize for. No worries!
Lilly: Well, actually I do. You see, I became a little jealous just now.
Dodger: Why?
Lilly: Well...I was a little bothered that you had another friend I didn't know about, and my imagination made me think maybe you'd done it on purpose and, well, now I'm just embarrassed. I shouldn't hve allowed myself to get to worked up over something so silly.
Zippy: Totally forgiven. Truth be told, I had the same problem when Dodger told me about you.
Lilly: Really?
Dodger: Yeah. She sounded a little suspicious at first, but quickly warmed up to you.
Zippy: I also realized, just like you, that jealousy is a dangerous matter.
Lilly: No kidding. It's destroyed a lot of really good things in the past. I'm glad I got mine under control quickly. Proverbs isn't kidding when it warns us about jealousy.
Zippy: Which verse?
Lilly: I...can't remember the exact reference. The verse mentions other unpleasant things. Dodger?
Dodger: Let me think. Yeah, I got it. Proverbs 27:4-
"Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? (ESV)"
Zippy: Hm. Sounds pretty intense.
Lilly: It IS intense. We both know how quickly jealousy can grab hold if a person isn't on guard against it. We were both upset with Dodger, and I nearly became upset with you for no good reason. Jealousy will wreck lives if it's not checked.
Zippy: Wreck lives...oh, the Bible has a pretty sad story on that.
Dodger: Lilly and I talked about it once. In First Samuel 21-22 we read about King Saul of Israel and the priests of the Lord. A servant of Saul named David is running away because Saul wants to kill him. Apparently Saul is jealous of David for several reasons, including David's fame and the fact that God promised him the throne. Saul tries chasing him down, and one of the earliest examples of the events brought on by this tragedy is an ordered massacre of peaceful people.
Lilly: I remember that story. It's really terrible. Not only are people killed, but it shows just how far from God Saul had become. He had priests killed because one of them had talked to David while he was running away. He gave David food and a sword without knowing that David was actually running. In other words, he did nothing wrong, and he and his entire city were slaughtered all because Saul's jealousy made him into a cruel and senseless villain. Thankfully jealousy doesn't always end that way, but it does show how powerful jealousy can be. I guess it's a pretty sober reminder, huh?
Zippy: Yeah. Of course, jealousy isn't something to be scared of. Instead we just need to not let it into our lives. After all, we're all faced with decisions on how to act. It's just up to us to choose what's right, and jealousy is pretty easy to avoid when you focus on God and what He's done for you.
Dodger: Being jealous isn't even the same as being tempted to be jealous. We all sometimes feel a little jealous, but when that happens we can take it to God, and He'll help us to get rid of it.
Lilly: He really does have all the answers. Well, Zippy, I hope I can meet you in person sometime!
Zippy: Likewise, I'm certain!
Dodger: I need to head out. Thanks for talking with us! Don't ever forget that Jesus loves you, and that's NEVER going to change.
Zippy: Zippy, out!
Lilly: Ciao!
Lilly: Who was that?
Dodger: Just an old friend.
Lilly: Old friend? Who?
Dodger: You guys never had a chance to meet, actually.
Lilly: Well, you didn't need to hang up on him.
Dodger: Her, actually.
Lilly: Her?
Dodger: Yeah. Her name is Zippy.
Lilly: Zippy?
Dodger: Short for Zipporah. That's kind of a mouthful, so I just call her Zippy.
Lilly: Oh. Why didn't you mention her before?
Dodger: She never came up in conversation, I guess.
Lilly: Well, you could have at least said she existed. Does she know about me?
Dodger: Sure! I've told her tons about you.
Lilly: So she knows all about me, and I didn't even know she existed until now. Thanks a lot.
Dodger: Hey...it's not on purpose or anything. I live right near you, but she's in another state, so when we talk I can't just chat with her about what we've been doing, which I can actually do with you.
Lilly: Well, yeah, but...couldn't you have told me you have another friend who knows all about me?
Dodger: I guess it was just a miscommunication.
Lilly: Ehm-hm.
Dodger: I never meant to keep her a secret or anything. Hey, please don't let it get to you.
Zippy: Yeah, Lilly. Dodger meant nothing by it.
Lilly: Who's that?!?
Dodger: Oh, Zippy! I'm sorry, I must have forgot to hang up!
Zippy: It's perfectly fine. No problem. Lilly, it's great to actually hear you. I always hoped I'd get a chance to meet you, even over the phone.
Lilly: Hi.
Zippy: Dodger actually didn't tell me about you until about three weeks ago.
Lilly: Oh?
Zippy: Yeah. I asked him what he'd been up to and he said "Just hanging out with Lilly and some other friends" and then I stopped him and asked who that even was and then he told me about you, so, it took a while. It wasn't personal. Really.
Lilly: ...wow. Well, thanks, Zippy. I, um, guess I owe you both an apology.
Dodger: Nah. You didn't do anything. It was really my fault, actually.
Zippy: I wasn't even bothered. You have nothing to apologize for. No worries!
Lilly: Well, actually I do. You see, I became a little jealous just now.
Dodger: Why?
Lilly: Well...I was a little bothered that you had another friend I didn't know about, and my imagination made me think maybe you'd done it on purpose and, well, now I'm just embarrassed. I shouldn't hve allowed myself to get to worked up over something so silly.
Zippy: Totally forgiven. Truth be told, I had the same problem when Dodger told me about you.
Lilly: Really?
Dodger: Yeah. She sounded a little suspicious at first, but quickly warmed up to you.
Zippy: I also realized, just like you, that jealousy is a dangerous matter.
Lilly: No kidding. It's destroyed a lot of really good things in the past. I'm glad I got mine under control quickly. Proverbs isn't kidding when it warns us about jealousy.
Zippy: Which verse?
Lilly: I...can't remember the exact reference. The verse mentions other unpleasant things. Dodger?
Dodger: Let me think. Yeah, I got it. Proverbs 27:4-
"Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? (ESV)"
Zippy: Hm. Sounds pretty intense.
Lilly: It IS intense. We both know how quickly jealousy can grab hold if a person isn't on guard against it. We were both upset with Dodger, and I nearly became upset with you for no good reason. Jealousy will wreck lives if it's not checked.
Zippy: Wreck lives...oh, the Bible has a pretty sad story on that.
Dodger: Lilly and I talked about it once. In First Samuel 21-22 we read about King Saul of Israel and the priests of the Lord. A servant of Saul named David is running away because Saul wants to kill him. Apparently Saul is jealous of David for several reasons, including David's fame and the fact that God promised him the throne. Saul tries chasing him down, and one of the earliest examples of the events brought on by this tragedy is an ordered massacre of peaceful people.
Lilly: I remember that story. It's really terrible. Not only are people killed, but it shows just how far from God Saul had become. He had priests killed because one of them had talked to David while he was running away. He gave David food and a sword without knowing that David was actually running. In other words, he did nothing wrong, and he and his entire city were slaughtered all because Saul's jealousy made him into a cruel and senseless villain. Thankfully jealousy doesn't always end that way, but it does show how powerful jealousy can be. I guess it's a pretty sober reminder, huh?
Zippy: Yeah. Of course, jealousy isn't something to be scared of. Instead we just need to not let it into our lives. After all, we're all faced with decisions on how to act. It's just up to us to choose what's right, and jealousy is pretty easy to avoid when you focus on God and what He's done for you.
Dodger: Being jealous isn't even the same as being tempted to be jealous. We all sometimes feel a little jealous, but when that happens we can take it to God, and He'll help us to get rid of it.
Lilly: He really does have all the answers. Well, Zippy, I hope I can meet you in person sometime!
Zippy: Likewise, I'm certain!
Dodger: I need to head out. Thanks for talking with us! Don't ever forget that Jesus loves you, and that's NEVER going to change.
Zippy: Zippy, out!
Lilly: Ciao!
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