envy

...in questions from Sunday evening 18 July 2010...

God didn't state what a suitable sacrifice was so surely the fact that both Cain & Abel gave a sacrifice should have found God’s favour?

What makes envy a sin and not jealousy? Whats the difference?

So are we allowed to be jealous?

I can see envy leading to ambition, a desire to achieve more aiming higher. Is the ambitious response to envy a sin?

Is it wrong to envy someone else's faith / spiritual walk?

How do we deal with other people being envious of us and what God has given us?

Can envy of something stop, or will we always have to fight it?

Is the Envy of Cain as bad as me envying a new cooker that works properly? Like the one my friend has?

Can envy be channeled for good or should it be avoided at all costs?

Is it right that we should focus on the sin? Isn’t that Catholicism?

Shouldn’t we be focused on the saviour?

How can people cope with envy if they have been abused and they envy what they see in others?

What are the consequences of envy?

If I envy something does that mean I won’t go to Heaven?

How do you respond to someone with an envious character and not make them mad?

Are there different levels of envy?

Seven Deadly Sins: envy...

Introduction

Pride

13 June ‘10

Envy

18 July ’10

Anger

15 Aug. ’10

Sloth

3 Oct. ’10

Greed

7 Nov. ’10

...in images, chosen & explained by Fiona Spicer:

...in audio, Sundays downloads:

...in words, Andy Caldwell writes:

Envy (Invidia). The second deadly sin is envy, which we see played out in our lives and in the world around us every day. As a society we’ve made light of envy to such an extent that it seems quite unjust that the “old eyed monster” should even be a sin. Comparison and personal competition are so much ingrained in us that it is the basic tool of the advertising executive. Day after day images bombard us, to provoke us toward discontent and consumerism, celebrity after celebrity line up on the red carpet of fame to tell us we are worth it and our children and young people often have one goal, “to be famous”, be like them. Envy is well and truly alive.

Thomas Aquinas called envy “sadness at the happiness or glory of another” while John of Damascus helpfully write that it is the “discontent over someone else’s blessings”. The Ten Commandments are filled with prohibitions against things we could do … murder … steal …. Lie but there is one command against that which we feel, envy the tenth commandment. In our darker moments there is also the reverse, Schadenfreude, a sort of inverse envy which delights in the misfortune of others, when those we envy are brought low.

How can we recognise envy in our lives and can we fight it? Is it possible to find the peace of God that’s cries out like Paul, “I have learnt the secret of contentment in all circumstances.”? (Philippians 4:12.)

Andy Caldwell

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