Envy — It’s a Killer


	by Fr. James Farfaglia Other Articles by Fr. James Farfaglia Contact this Author

11/04/06

		Quick — what do Cain, Satan, and Claudias (Uncle of Hamlet) have in common? And do you have it in common with them?

In This Article... Bad Company The Envy Trap Be Transformed


Bad Company I’m talking here about envy, one of the seven deadly sins. They all had it — Satan still has it — and if you have it, well, suffice it to say you may not want to be in their company. To diagnose whether you have envy — or whether envy has you — consider what it is. Envy is the act of being saddened by another's qualities or good fortune as if that good constituted a threat to our own superiority. Many times envy may include desiring to see another person deprived of that particular quality or good fortune that offends us. Unchecked, envy becomes an extremely destructive force. Lucifer is said to have rebelled because he was envious of the Word, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Those ruled by envy are dangerous and cause terrible divisions in families, neighborhoods, the business world, and in the Church. This appalling vice is rooted in pride because the envious must always be superior. Always perceiving others as threats, the envious can never allow potential rivals to collaborate with them unless they can retain control. Their envy always fastens on some brilliant quality, virtue, or aspect of character of another. When others achieve recognition or success, the envious are saddened and are moved to do everything in their power to destroy the object of their envy. Thus the envious may employ character assassination, calumny, and physical harm — even murder — in their quest for dominance. Moreover, the envious create terrible dissension. Christian unity is lost in communities where the envious contend. The envious know no interior peace because they are always seeking anything that will further their quest for superiority. They ruthlessly seek positions of power and do all that they can to remain in power, even if this means destroying those in their way. They use excessive work as a means of satisfying this inner lust for supremacy. The envious live in unending torment until they can eclipse those they perceive to be their rivals. Many obsessed with envy are made insane with power and commit horribly destructive acts or become mentally ill. Human history provides abundant examples of envy. From the Bible, Cain envied his brother Abel; Joseph was envied by his brothers; and the Prodigal Son was envied by his older brother. Shakespeare illustrates this sin in Hamlet. Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, envied Hamlet's father, his brother. His envy spawned lust and murder, and led to the innocent deaths of Ophelia, Gertrude and Hamlet. For some strange reason, the sin of envy is a cancer within much of the clergy. Many holy and zealous priests are frustrated in their ministry precisely because their brothers do not want them to succeed. As you can see, envy is a terrible sin. The Envy Trap Envy is a mortal sin when the impulses are fully consented to and put into action; one is then fully culpable. Its effects are very corrosive. Furthermore, envy is classified as a capital sin, one of those sins so pernicious that in the words of the Catechism, “it engenders other sins, other vices" (1866). This terrible sin is made more terrible because it arouses sentiments of hatred toward those we may envy. All capital sins can be mortal sins, but not all mortal sins are capital sins. The capital sins, or deadly sins, are at the root of other sins. "They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, 'What were you arguing about on the way?' But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest” (Mk 9: 33-34). The Apostles fell into the envy trap. As fallen creatures they were prone, like us, to sin. Jesus continually taught His disciples how they must be. Even at the Last Supper, the Apostles were seeking places of honor, and Jesus gave them a final lesson by assuming the office of a slave by washing their feet. Jesus gives us the antidote for envy. He reminds us once again that every true disciple must be humble. "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all" (Mk 9: 35). Be Transformed Ambition is a very powerful force in the human psyche. Jesus does not tell us to live passive and uninteresting lives. He challenges us to channel our ambition by dying to our selfish tendencies and living out the spirit of service so characteristic for those who desire to live authentic Christianity. To drive His point home, Jesus points to an innocent child and says, “Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in My name, welcomes Me; and anyone who welcomes Me welcomes not Me but the One Who sent Me” (Mk 9: 37). The lesson here is clear: serve one another without looking for anything in return. Commonly we form friendships in order to get ahead or achieve a particular goal. This is especially true in the business world. But Jesus is telling us to serve without any hidden selfish motives. What does all of this have to do with envy? If we break the cycle of selfishness, envy will disappear, too. But dying to self is not an easy enterprise. True Christianity demands intense daily mortification and a profound spiritual life. However, selfishness is a serious problem for many Catholics nowadays, one unrecognized cause being the hardening of hearts through the contraceptive mentality so prevalent today. It saddens me to hear married practicing Catholics affirm that they do not want to have any more children. Such egotism generates other forms of selfishness as well. Envy is one of them, and the lack of volunteerism is another — as is not putting our fair share in the Sunday collection basket — and so is failure to use the sacrament of Confession. We need to eradicate all forms of selfishness from our lives if we really want to be transformed into authentic Christians. The ultimate goal of the Christian way of life is transformation into Christ. He is the way, the truth and the life. Selfishness has to be dealt with very seriously and the terrible sin of envy must be rooted out as the danger it is. We need to die to our egotism so that we may become more and more like the Risen Lord. © Copyright 2006 Catholic Exchange Father James Farfaglia is Pastor of St. Helena of the True Cross of Jesus Catholic Church in Corpus Christi, Texas. Originally from Ridgefield, Connecticut, Father has founded and developed apostolates for the Catholic Church in Spain, Italy, Mexico, Canada and throughout the United States. He may be reached by email at Icthus@GoCcN.org.

Envy and jealousy are probably the two most destructive emotions humans have.

They go hand in hand and unchecked lead straight to the destruction of human beings.

The most dangerous combination is an envious person with a little bit of power over others. Such a person is to be feared, despised, and if possible destroyed.

But if you used the word "admire" instead of envy is it still a sin? In this instance you could say "I admire my friend Mike and how he's lived his life and the choices he's made." Is there a difference between admiring someone and envying them?

A few years back I read a sociological book (I think it was just titled "Envy") on envy in cultures. Parts I skipped since it was sometimes dry but it was mostly very interesting and eye opening. I recall reading some primitive cultures will not bring back their quarry (is that the right word?) in view of other hunters. To do so would violate their ethics since it might instill envy. There were many other fascinating stories of envy or the way in which cultures evolve to limit envy.

It changed my perception quite a bit since there is a whole lot more envy out there than most people see.

I am so-o happy you posted this. I literally just read this on another site and wondered what fellow Freepers would say. Thank you for posting this.

It really gave me a lot to chew on and to reflect on in both myself and in those around me. Envy is so pervasive.

One thing that struck me is how older folks can envy young children and even then they take them down and the child thinks it is their problem and extinquish this quality that threatens others, when usually it is a God given strength/trait. I think this happens a lot even in well meaning people and in Christian families.

You forgot to mention that you also live in the greatest nation on the face of God's green earth!
More power to you; you sound like you've got the best of one of the deadly sins!

Yes, I suppose all sins in some way involve people. Yet some sins are more against oneself than another. Greed doesn't require another person, envy does.

Sheesh! How could I forget!

I am reminded of something I heard on a radio talk show a while back.

They were asking some guy in a third world country why he wanted to go to America.

"I want to go where the poor people are fat!"

I only hope he got his wish.

**Envy is so pervasive.**

Yes, the secular world would have us think that "envy" and wanting to beat down those around us who might have more (of anything:
stuff, money, brains, degrees, awards, body of the slim type, etc. LOL!) is OK.

Did I catch everything there?

NTW, thanks for your kind words.

**You forgot to mention that you also live in the greatest nation on the face of God's green earth! **

And that we have the right to vote freely!

Shall I tell you how to vote here? No, I don't think so. Just vote.

Absolutely; two different things there. Envy doesn't mean you want to have exactly that which is the others but you do want to have what the other has...and just a little more or just a little better brand. There is that aspect of superiority as mentioned in the article. The simple life facet of "keeping up with the Jones'" can easily be the sin of envy, IMHO.

"Is there anything missing from that answer? Why the hatred? What is the motivation for the wickedness? What causes the anger?"

The source of all of these is the Evil One. The Fathers were quite clear on this. +Anthony the Great worte extensively on the subject.

Strange, we know it's bad, but I'm not exactly sure what it is. Websters says it's a resentment against the advantage of others.

Ask someone to define "irony" and then sit back and enjoy the blank stare.

Webster is correct as usual. It is a resentment against the advantage, real or imagined, of others.

It's the motivation for all kinds of evils. It's the reason kids shoot each other over sneakers and jackets. It's the reason redistributionist schemes nearly always enjoy wide public support.

It's also dangerously easy to fall into being envious. One must guard oneself constantly lest it take over.

As I said above envy combined with a bit of power over others is quite often lethal.

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