Envy — It’s a Killer

CatholicExchange.com ^ | 11-04-06 | Fr. James Farfaglia

[LibKill]

Another thing that is difficult to sort out -- as the article alludes to is ambition.

Yep, that's a tough one.

If a man's ambition is to be so bloody rich that there is no word for it in any language, there may be a problem.

If his ambition is to slay a disease (polio) that's a worthy ambition.

It seems to me that Ambition is like a chainsaw. Wonderful in the right hands. In the wrong hands it is the stuff of horror movies.

[cornelis]

The source of all of these is the Evil One

Like they say, the answer is always Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!

[Conservative til I die]

Erm. Is it envy if you wish you had as much as someone else has? Without taking anything from them? Let's say my best friend "Mike" has all kinds of good stuff in life. Is it envy if I think "More Power to Mike, I wish I was like him!"?

It could be. Depends on what kind of feelings it elicits in you. Is it just admiration and respect because your friend worked hard and achieved? Or does it elicit anger and resentment? Or is it that you think he's done well because money and possessions are the paramount thing in life? Or are you not thankful for your own spot in life?

The Commandments go a little bit further than just "Do not kill" or "Do not covet".

For instance, if your friend's position in life leads you into all consuming quest for the same type of material success, that might actually fall under idolatry. Putting money and the quest for it before God. And if you become jealous of your friend, even if you don't act on it, you're probably sinning. Similar to when Christ said that the man who lusts for another in his heart is already and adulterer.

[Conservative til I die]

OK. I guess I should try to be satisfied with what I've got. My life is a durn sight better than some I've seen. I shall try to be grateful.

This brings up another useful point: having humility. It can be envy if we wish we had more than what we have now, instead of being thankful for what we do have now and realizing we're more blessed than we think.

[cornelis]

Envy is a "material thing" sort of issue, eg the Jones' new car.

Well, then we need to distinguish it from covetousness. And if you'll notice from Tax-chick's observation, Jones' new care is available. It isn't exactly outside our reach.

[GOP Poet]

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?

I think you pretty much covered it :-). When you mentioned this it also reminded me of how in the article envy also creates new sins. One thing that struck me is how hateful one can become when they are in envy and another is how our focus can be completely taken off God's will for us when we are so focused on another's success.

Also in my case when I am envying another I am no longer grateful to God for what I have or have been given. I am focused on what is not mine, but what God has given another and it leaves me steamed at God (Like what He has given me is not enough). Crazy. The devil must just LOVE envy.

[LibKill]

Thanks, go back to my #39 and you will see that I have found reasons to be grateful for what I have in life.

"Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."

For "home" read "Texas".

:)

[Conservative til I die]

So envy is the desire for something that you are not supposed to have?

Envy is a desire for something or someone that gets in the way of your relationship to God and fellow man.

Remember, in tems of eternity, a car or a woman are not something worth giving up the Kingdom for.

[Mrs. Don-o]

"Can envy happen between denominations/belief systems, etc.?"

If you define envy as resenting the virtues, the good reputation, prosperity, and success of another---and wishing they would be taken down a notch or two --- then sure, it happens all the time between denominations. Of course feeling steamed about some other church enjoying growth or influence or success, is still the sin of envy.

Envy shouldn't be confused with emulation, which is recognizing another person's or group's excellent qualities, and being spurred to be more like them. Like, "Dang, those Baptists sure can quote chapter and verse! I wish more of us Catholics could do the same. Maybe I should really take a Bible course."

Didn't St. Paul say something somewhere about trying to out-do each other in virtue? (C'mon, Baptist friends, help me out here...)

[cornelis]

One of the strangest form of envy is against someone else's good idea or deeds. Watch out in a bureaucratic society where honor is institutionalized.

[LibKill]

OK.

I'm a little over my head here, intellectually.

Still, this thread has made me revalue my life.

I find it good.

I am grateful for all that I have. That includes YOU, and Free Republic.

Thanks, FRiends.

[Conservative til I die]

Another thing that is difficult to sort out -- as the article alludes to is ambition.

Very interesting idea, especially in a capitalist culture like ours. Nothing wrong with wanting to do well in the world, provide for your family, take pride in your work. There is something wrong with being a workaholic, working so hard to get to the top that you step on others, forget your loved ones, forget God.

Interestingly, I bet there are many conservatives who are Christian that might think speaking against unbridled ambition is somehow socialistic (Such as when the Church speaks out against both communism as well as unbridled capitalism as evils). Kind of a mixing of the political and the religious.

[cornelis]

You're probably right, but most people who are envious don't know this. Their actions are interpreted as doing right.

[GOP Poet]

LOL! I was wondering what NTW meant, but of course I decided I had fallen behind on the lingo. You always post the greatest stuff! And I of course have no envy about this at all :-). But I do admire your taste in content. (Please forgive starting two sentences with conjunctions--I'm being rebellious, it is Saturday and I am letting my hair down.) :-).

[cornelis]

St. Paul was uncannily ambitious.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Admiration is a good thing. It involves honesty and gratefulness: "What a great gal she is: pretty, smart, involved in lots of interesting things, lovely cozy home and sweet kids and such a nice husband, what a joy!"

Envy is where you end it up with, "It makes me mad! She doesn't deserve it! Why do people think she's so great?!"

[SolomoninSouthDakota]

"And envy, particularly, is about your disposition toward the other person,"

Strictly speaking, envy's object is someone else's "things" just because, well you want them because that person has them; YOU'RE ENVIOUS. Jealousy's object is more toward the actual person or a relationship another person has with someone else. A classic example is a jealous lover.
Fine distinction, I know, but knowing it may avoid some confusion due to semantics.

[Lurker]

Watch out in a bureaucratic society where honor is institutionalized.

There are pockets of institutionalized honor in our society. I cite our military as an example. Oh sure you can find examples of military folks who have behaved dishonorably but the fact that they are so few and far between is what makes them such big news when they happen.

What I fear has happened is that the definition of honor has been so degraded and cheapened in society at large that most folks have completely forgotten the real meaning of honor.

Somehow most people have become convinced that it's honorable to envy those who are more succesful and that it's equally honorable to use the force of law to strip them of what they have earned.

Honor is being equated with that nasty horrible base thing called 'altruism'. Nothing could be further from the truth.

We're fast becoming a society which is based on envy, where success is based more on who one knows and how much pull one has with whoever happens to be in charge on a given day. Business is almost no longer done by free will but rather by institutionized graft and the forced redistribution of assets.

It's the harbinger of a doomed society and if we don't get things turned around pretty damned quick there will be a butchers bill to pay the likes of which no one is going to believe.

L

[Mad Dawg]

Across the road from me is a very rich man,. He's a good, though weird, guy.

So one day my priest and I were loading a washing machine that he was giving to us to give to somebody onto the back of my pickup.

THis guy has a John Deere Lawnmower to die for. So I said to Father Ralph."Help! I'm committing envy! I want that lawnmower?"

He said, "You could want one just like it ...."

I just got here, but isn't the real deal that instead of trusting God to show His love for me in the best way, and instead of loving my neighbor, I m all upset because my neighbor is smarter od handsomer or stronger or richer or more holy than I? I don't know. When the compost hits the air conditioner it's hard to remember that God is my help and my salvation. (It's easy to remember not delighting in any man's legs -- Eeew!, but the rest of it, I'm not too good at.)

[SolomoninSouthDakota]

"And if you'll notice from Tax-chick's observation, Jones' new care is available. It isn't exactly outside our reach"

I'm sorry, I don't understant what you are saying here.
Regarding covetousness vs. envy, I can see no material distinction. Perhaps someone else could enlighten us both.