Envy defined:
- A feeling of grudging admiration and desire to have something that is possessed by another
- Spite and resentment at seeing the success of another (personified as one of the deadly sins) –WordWeb Pro
- painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same –Merriam-Webster
Envy
is something I encountered in spades as a young man in my late teens
and early twenties—for this was the heyday of the Beatles. Why
couldn't I have all their talent, their fame and fortune, their
ability to make girls swoon while performing on the Ed Sullivan Show?
Compared to them I thought my existence paltry in the extreme,
almost detestable.
What
is the core problem with the sin of envy? It is that we reject
ourselves and wish to be the clone of another. In other words we
completely discount the unique person that God made us (with our
unique talent, abilities and mission) and instead want to be like
(perhaps more truthfully—to be) someone else.
Often
we hear Christians ask “What would Jesus do?” Perhaps the better
question is “What would Jesus have me do?” For it is destructive
to desire to be a faded clone of Jesus. Rather, we are to fulfill
our mission using our own talents and abilities. Only Christ was
given the mission to save the world. We are given the mission to do
our part to change a small part of it.
When
we look at the progress of life on earth, especially human life, we
can see that survival itself depends upon a diversified portfolio of
contributors. We should reject envy and rejoice in our unique
calling.
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