Envy — It’s a Killer

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

[Salvation]

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

Envy — It’s a Killer

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.

[Tax-chick]

It's simple, but stimulates profound thought about what's really valuable, at least for me. Reminiscent, of course, of "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be."

[LibKill]

Relax a little, FRiend.

Be glad that the powers that be did not give our brains a stir with a fork while they were handing out this and that.

It could be very much worse.

[Mrs. Don-o]

"St. Paul was uncannily ambitious."

True. Missionaries (the best of them) have voracious ambition, channeled and turned in the right direction. It's like wanting to achieve a world's record for enriching other people.

[Tax-chick]

envy's object is someone else's "things" just because, well you want them because that person has them;

That seems more like covetousness, to me.

But still, envy results in your hating and wishing to harm another person.

[cornelis]

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.

Exactly.

There's something eery about a society where every social exchange is weighed in terms of advantage.

[LibKill]

That seems more like covetousness, to me.

I thought that covetousness and envy were pretty much the same emotion/thinking.

Was I wrong?

I'm not all that smart but I have a pretty good grasp on the American version of the English language.

[cornelis]

My bet is that envy kills ambition.

[GOP Poet]

My bet is that envy kills ambition.

I think you bet rightly.

[Tax-chick]

Greed, envy, covetousness, jealousy are often used interchangeably in common speech, and that's not really a problem. However, in the details of theology, there are distinctions, which I'm probably not making clearly because I'm not fully clear on them, myself. (I could get a catechism out, but there's something funny going on in the next room, and I'm going to have to intervene momentarily ...)

Anyway, between covetousness and envy, covetousness is about wanting a particular item someone else has, while envy is about your intentions toward the person. When we're talking about a tractor, it may not be all that sharp a line, but consider being envious of another person's business success, or of his influence in the community, or of his good looks.

You can't "covet" those qualities, because they're not transferrable to you in the way a car or (ahem) wife might be. If you dislike him and wish him harm because of advantages you perceive he has, then that is "envy."

[cornelis]

What would you say is the most typical form of envy in our society?

[Tax-chick]

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.

Good point.

Out of charity, I'd rephrase your second sentence, "Such a person is to be feared, pitied, and, if possible, converted or otherwise neutralized."

[LibKill]

Heh, thanks. You cleared up the difference between covetousness and envy quite nicely.

This thread has been an education for me.

I now feel a lot better about my little slice of life and my abilities, as humble as they are.

I will now sign off and have a beer.

Did I mention beer? Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. - Benjamin Franklin

[Tax-chick]

You're bringing up great questions!

[Tax-chick]

That's wonderful! Do enjoy your beer, or two! I don't covet your beer, because I don't like beer, and I don't envy your enjoyment of it, because I have a bottle of cheap Australian red wine in the pantry :-).

I kind of wish I still lived in Texas, though!

[SolomoninSouthDakota]

"envy's object is someone else's "things" "

Yes, one becomes envious of someone else's things, desires to have those things, and like you said, ends up hating the other person. Envy has to in some way involve another person. Greed does not. I can be greedy for all the seashells on the seashore but I can't envy the seashore.

Covetousness...envy....there I can't seem to make a distinction.
My wife just informed me that covetousness does not include the feeling of ill will for the other person.
There you have it. Our terminology is now set clear!
(That blankity blank blank wife of mine. She always seems to have just all the right answers. She thinks she is so wise. OOOOOOH!)

[Lurker]

There's something eery about a society where every social exchange is weighed in terms of advantage.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to improve ones station and situation in life through honest labor and the free exchange of goods or services. That's the height of virtue if you ask me.

Not to sound like Gordon Gecko, but selfishness is actually a virtue. After all, one can not help any one before one has helped oneself.

But you are correct. In my opinion it's beyond eerie and is in fact downright frightening.

At this rate it won't be long before the looters completely take over society and begin the pillaging in earnest. We're walking a knife edge right now, and I don't think that's an exaggeration or hyperbole.

We're just one or two acts of "congress" away from outright institutionalized thievery being the law of the land. Some would argue, largely correctly in my view, that we are already there.

It used to be a joke to say that "no mans money or property is safe while the Legislature is in session." Well there are a lot fewer people laughing at that now. That's largely because it's true and is distinctly un-funny.

We're just one or two steps away from outright mob rule if you ask me and that's damned frightening. I'm getting way too old for this sh**, but I sure as he** don't want to leave the mess for my kid to clean up.

L

[Tax-chick]

LOL! If you had seashells, you'd have to dust them, and the same with most of the other "stuff" in the world. That's Don Aslett's point - he's "America's Number 1 Cleaning Specialist," as well as being a Christian pastor of some sort.

Speaking of things that can love you back, a little person just crawled up, whining, "Mama, mama!"

See you!

[GOP Poet]

Although I personally distinguish ambition as being either for God or for me. I think people are spurred on in a competitive way through envy, yet, it is not a Godly ambition. It is to covet and to 'win', to gain a perceived power as mentioned in the article.

Another way that ambition may be renewed from envy, but in a Goldy way might be if one goes to God and works closely with Him and with His Word, they may learn that there is something in them that is desirous in this area and they can work with God in prayer and in his leading to learn how that should be handled.

For instance, what if one has pursued a direction in their life out of fear, as opposed to a direction that God all along intended for them. One day this person realizes they are always envious of this certain type of person that has a certain type of profession. They share this with a fellow spiritual friend and the friend asks, what is it about this specific type of person with this specific type of profession? and the person answers, "I've always wanted to be this sort of person in this exact profession."

Well maybe there is a leading here that has been denied. Maybe it is serving God in another capacity that has been denied by this person out of fear and thus the rise of envy. This is a situation where I can see it possibly renewing ambition in a Godly way, but not without personal spiritual exploration.

[GOP Poet]

What would you say is the most typical form of envy in our society?

I would say covetousness. Eveyone hates the rich, except the rich and they just hate the richer. Simple math. The second is youth. Everyone except the young envy the young. If not in their lifestyle, their looks or bodies or health. JMHO. Et Tu?

[Lurker]

You are far more charitable than I.

You have more hope than I do regarding converting such people. I've never seen it happen.

But the scales fell from Pauls eyes (was it Paul?) so I guess anything is possible.

On the other hand, Paul had the benefit of dealing with Jesus himself. Sadly, Jesus isn't around today. If he were I'm afraid things would go largely as they did 2,000 years ago.

L