Envy

Envy is something all humans are very familiar with.  I think the subtitle of the second chapter describes envy well:  Feeling Bitter When Others Have It Better.  We all experience these feelings, it's in our nature.  An envious person resents another person because that person is superior to them.  The envious person wants something that someone else has and is just as concerned that the other person does not have it.  Envy is different from jealousy.  The jealous person has something that they do not want to lose.  The envious person does not have anything but wishes to gain something.  Envious people sometimes believe that they are not equal or loved equally and they have a sense of inferiority.  Many times the envier blames God for their feeling of inferiority and for someone else being better at something or having something that they don't.  Envious persons do not publicize their envy of another because this will just show their inferiority even more.  People tend to envy others that they are compared to, not people who are obviously much more talented than them or people who have nothing to do with their lives or what they care about.  Envy is opposed to love.  On page 52, DeYoung says, "Aquinas argues that this opposition to love of God and neighbor makes envy a mortal or deadly sin..."  Envy arises from pride.  We are all prideful and we do not want to be inferior to anyone, we want to be superior.  DeYoung suggests one way of trying to get rid of envy is to invest ourselves in activities with common goods.  She says, "Common goods are such that one person's increase in having them does not diminish anyone else's share" (55).  To combat envy we need to have zeal.  A zealous person knows God loves them and looks at themselves honestly with the desire to be better.  On page 57 DeYoung says, on zeal, "With it, we can freely imitate others who are our betters, appreciating but also striving to better ourselves."  This is where the discipline of giving two honest and meaningful compliments comes in.  I do not mind giving compliments where they are do.  You have to have some zeal to be able to compliment other people and not envy them because they are better than you at something.  For example, I complimented my friend on how well he can play the guitar.  I can also play the guitar but he is better than I and I do not mind complimenting him on that and I am not envious of him.  I am able to see myself honestly and I strive to be better at guitar.  So, I accomplished the task of giving honest and meaningful compliments.