Posted on 08/12/2011 7:34:28 AM PDT by Reeses
Of all the characteristics of human beings that are bad, envy is the worst. It is the most unredeeming and wicked of the negative characteristics of human beings.
Envy has at its root a gross and inordinate self-concept either on the side of gross inferiority or gross arrogance. A proper self-concept is vitally necessary to have a balanced and peaceful mind with contentment. However, when one has low self-esteem this self-concept breeds friction and trouble. For example, if someone comes along doing that which we believe we were the only ones qualified to do, our self-concept is threatened. This produces envy. Or, if someone believes that he or she is the best at doing a particular thing and someone comes along doing it better, our self-confidence is threatened, producing envy. Or, if someone sees another person with a gift or talent that gives that person honor, respect and wealth, which is what each of us as human beings may want in life, our self concept being threatened we develop a covetous desire for the ends that the talent brings, out of envy. And if we fail at that gift or talent, our self-concept is further threatened, turning envy into murder.
Envy is so troublesome because it causes the individual who posses it to literally grow to hate the person whom he or she envies. The end product of this hatred is the desire to murder the person that is envied. Envy makes its possessor a devil, for the possessor of envy becomes an active opponent, adversary or enemy of the person who is envied, generally without a just cause. The envier can mask envy with a smile, a warm embrace or a kiss. The envier can pretend to be the best friend of the person who is envied, seeking to learn everything that he or she can about the person that is envied to use it to bring about the destruction of that person. This is the action of a demon or devil.
History is full of the work of the envier and the fate of those who are envied. We need only look to the Genesis of the Bible to begin to see how envy forms. Cain wanted to please Allah (God) and so did Able. Both had a similar desire. Both had a similar objective. However, when Cain's offering was rejected and Able's was accepted, Cain became angry and envious with a sense of vengeance. His self-concept was threatened. He felt his offering should have been accepted, if not more so than his brother's, at least equally. However, the rejection was so painful that this created hatred and the hatred grew into murder and made it easy for Cain to slay his brother. We see this pattern continued in a fine thread from Genesis to Revelation.
When on is blessed, the blessing creates in the heart of some, envy and hatred and a desire to destroy the blessing and the blessed one.
Joseph, a beautiful human being that involved a great future for himself. Telling the dream of his great future created envy in his brothers. They went to work immediately plotting against his life. The history of Joseph is the story of every man and woman of Allah (God). It is the story of every gifted and talented one who excels to some field of endeavor. Joseph's story could be your story or mine if your life is filled with promise, causing people to admire, honor, love and respect you for your gift. The more people love, respect, honor and admire you, it produces the exact opposite in a small group whose intense hatred causes them to seek the destruction of the blessed one.
The evil of envy shows up in the history of Jesus. It is envy over his success and accomplishments, which the religious leaders of his day were unable to accomplish. The envy is what lead the Jews and Roman authorities to manipulate the envy in the heart of Judas to accomplish that which Allah (God) ordained--the betryal, trial, and crucifixion of a Just and Holy Man.
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Excellent find.
The opening is a setup to rationalize and justify the upstart envier Mohamed the Prophet (that's what he was when he started out), by conflating Biblical teachings with Mo's autobiographical account of how "everybody was against him", conveniently leaving out how "everybody" was converted to non envious believers, the point of the sword.
Your right, that sentence marks a 180 degree turn in the message of the sermon.
Louis Farrakhan clearly stands on the bible and all those who have studied it, and those that translated the writings into English for him. Either Islam doesn't stand as tall, or plagiarizing Arabic text is too much work.
Excerpt:
Pride was the first sin committed. It was the sin of Lucifer. It was also the root of the Original Sin committed by Adam and Eve. Pride is the greatest of sins because it is the summit of self-love and is directly opposed to submission to God. It is, therefore, the sin most hated by God, and the one He punishes most severely. The punishment of the Angels, of Adam and Eve, of Nabuchodonosor, related in the Book of Daniel (4:27-30), bear witness to this. Pride is likewise the greatest sin because it is the fountainhead of the self-love in which all other sins take root: “From pride all perdition took its beginning.” (Tob. 4:14).
|
Capital Sin |
Definition |
Contrary Virtue |
| Pride |
Unrestrained appreciation of our own worth |
Humility |
| Greed |
Immoderate desire for earthly goods |
Liberality |
| Lust |
Hankering for impure pleasures |
Chastity |
| Anger |
Inordinate desire for revenge |
Meekness |
| Gluttony |
Unrestrained use of food and drink |
Temperance |
| Envy |
Sorrow over another's good fortune |
Brotherly Love |
| Sloth |
Laxity in keeping the Faith and the practice of virtue |
Diligence |
Note:
The 7 Capital Sins, also known as "The 7 Deadly Sins," are those sins that give rise to other sins. They were first enumerated by Pope St. Gregory the Great in "Moralia in Job."
Envy is the root of all Leftism.
I'll go a step further and say that pride is the only sin committed.
Everything else is just a symptom--which is why there is only one punishment for sin. There is only one sin.
I agree, all is vanity. I wonder though if the modern meaning of the word pride is different, and the modern version of the word vanity better describes the sin. Pride can be a good thing which results in craftsmanship, high quality meant for others, and feelings of great happiness. Likewise envy is a Cardinal sin, but sometimes how we use the word in modern times it doesn’t seem like a sin, like when someone admires someone and claims envy, or the envy inspires healthy competition. Couldn’t some pride as we currently use the word be healthy and good?
The pride you mentioned that cause us to perform better, or be better people, is indeed a good thing. However, the self-centeredness of excessive pride is not.
“Envy is the root of all Leftism.”
read my tagline
Greed really is an extreme form of envy. Although the left frequently accuses the right of greed, they are actually projecting their own envy onto others. Almost all greedy people are raving leftists, for example Madoff and 90% of Wall Street.
Socialism as a cure for envy = drowning as a cure for seasickness.
PLacemark for the Seven Deadly sins.
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