Resisting a Culture of Envy

Mark Dunagan
05/27/12 - Sunday Morning

Resisting a Culture of Envy

The Difference

Envy and jealousy are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference. Most say that envy is when you want something that someone else has, while jealousy is being afraid of losing something you already possess.  Though both deal with possessing something or someone, areas of envy often range more widely than jealousy, because it concerns what one does not have, and typically in most of our lives, the category of what we do not have is always larger than what we do have. The object of my envy could be anything — material objects, status, a relationship, traits, etc. As Joan Didion once said, "To cure jealousy is to see it for what it is, a dissatisfaction with self, an impossible claim that one should be at once Rose Bowl princess, medieval scholar"

Why the Big Deal?

A casual reading of Scripture will quickly reveal that envy is not acceptable with God and the continual mindset can keep us from eternal life.  In fact, envy is placed in the same category as adultery, murder, wickedness, fornication and theft.

• “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts…envy” (Mark 7:21-22).
• “Being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy” (Romans 1:29).
• “Envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21).
• “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander” (1 Peter 2:1). 

Envy or Aspiration?

At this point someone might counter, “But what is so wrong with wanting what others might have?”  That is, are there not good things that others have that we should also want in our lives?  Shouldn’t we also want a good marriage, a faithful wife, a good job, healthy children, and so on?  Clearly, simply seeing what someone has and saying, “It would be nice to have that. I'm going to begin the changes in my life necessary to head that direction” is not envy.  Certainly it is altogether healthy to observe a mature Christian and think, “One day I hope to be like them” (1 Corinthians 11:1).  Let's make sure we do not confuse envy with healthy ambition and aspiration.

“Sorrow at Another’s Good”

Thomas Aquinas defined envy this way:  “Envy enters when, seeing someone else’s happiness or success, we feel ourselves called into question.  Then, out of hurt of our wounded self-esteem, we seek to bring the other person down to our level by work or deed.  They belittle us by their success, we feel; we should bring them down to their deserved level, envy helps us feel.  Full-blown envy, in short, is dejection plus disparagement plus destruction” (The Call, Os Guinness p. 124). 

The Revenge of Failure

“In his excellent book The Seven Deadly Sin Today, journalist Henry Fairlie suggests that the motto for our times might be ‘The Revenge of Failure’.  If we cannot paint well, we destroy the canons of painting and pass ourselves as painters.  If we cannot or will not read, we dismiss linear thinking as irrelevant and dispense with reading.  In area after area, if we are not inclined to submit to the rigors of the discipline, we destroy the standards and pass ourselves off as acceptable.  And the reason?  Fairlie finds it in the corrupt egalitarianism of a soft-minded democracy.  ‘To pit unequals against unequals as if they were equals is to make a breeding ground for Envy….What we are unable to achieve, we will bring low.  What requires talent and training and hard work, we will show can be accomplished without them’.  Fairlie’s analysis is a merciless uncovering of the cancer or envy in modern society—as seen in our debunking biographies, leveling interviews, gossip columns, attack-ad electrioneering, and the ‘boom to bust’ cycle of our expectations of our leaders” (The Call, p. 123).

What an insight!  This writer has truly identifies one reason why God is so against envy.  At first sight envy might look like a sort of ambition that is just a little off track, but the truth is that envy is often the complete opposite of ambition.  Instead of looking at someone who has accomplished a number of things and being thankful for the good their accomplishments are making in the world and saying, “I want to be like him or her, and therefore I will hard work and make the sacrifices they made”, in our modern culture, too many people will say instead:

• “They are not as good as they appear—they are probably a hypocrite”.
• “They just got lucky—hard work had nothing to do with it; they were just in the right place at the right time”.
• “They probably inherited their money, and were born with a silver spoon in their mouth”.
• “They probably cheated or did something unlawful—for an honest guy cannot get ahead these days”.
• “They stole that million dollar idea from someone else”.

Envy is too often unwilling to put in the hard work, and when others do work hard and succeed, envy will try to bring them down.  Consequently, envy actually keeps people from excelling. 

Philippians 1:15, 17 “Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife…the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment”

• One reason God is opposed to envy is because envy cannot rejoice in the fact that others have been given maybe more talent that we have in a certain area.  Instead of rejoicing that Paul was such a good preacher and such a good worker for the kingdom and a great ally in spreading the gospel, these men envied him.  “We are always most vulnerable to envying those closest to our own gifts…Musicians generally envy musicians, not politicians; politicians other politicians; sportspeople other sportspeople; professors other professors; ministers other ministers” (The Call p. 126).
• Envy starts with the question, “Why am I not being allowed to enjoy what others enjoy?” and then ends with and self-destructive attitude, “What I cannot enjoy, no one else is allowed to”.  As a result, envy will often result in seeking to undermine the happiness and success of those doing well around us.  Like these men, since they could not be an apostle like Paul, they did everything they could to cause Paul unhappiness.  Thus envy will engage in trying to run people down, create unhappiness in their life, gossip about them, or undermine or hurt their influence (Mark 15:10; Titus 3:3). 

Solutions

• Resist buying into the language of class warfare.  Take a good look at the rich man.  Look at how hard he worked, the sacrifices he made, and the hours he puts in.  The wealthy put in long hours and have lots of responsibility. 
• Be grateful that there are many people in the world that are better than you in different areas. Imagine what life would be like if no one were any more skilled than you are in every area of life!
• Especially be grateful that God has given other Christians so many talents; this makes the church stronger. Focus on living your own life—do not become preoccupied with what someone else has (John 21:22).
• If you don’t feel good about yourself—then improve yourself—the "improvement kit", God's word, is available to everyone! Focus closely on what God has given you— then develop, use and enjoy those gifts!
• Remember: you are going to heaven (Romans 8:18)—how silly for someone going to heaven to ever for one moment feel sorry for themselves or envy anyone else!

Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.com
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net