Envy and Contentment

The sixth installment in my series on the Seven Deadly Sins and Heavenly Virtues is the Sin of Envy.

Envy has been with us ever since Cain slew his brother Abel. It’s the sin of the have-nots against the haves. A lot of the time those who are considered rich don’t even realize it – but those who think themselves poor know who the rich are. They’re the ones who have so much more than they have. Often poverty is a state of mind induced by our neighbor’s possessions – that new barbeque, or new car. Envious people count other people’s blessings instead of their own.

A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.
Proverbs 14:30

For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
Job 5:2

Dante defined Envy as "love of one's own good perverted to a desire to deprive other men of theirs." In his Purgatory, the punishment for the envious is to have their eyes sewn shut with wire because they have gained sinful pleasure from seeing others brought low.

Envy is the only deadly sin that is also listed in the Ten Commandments:
Thou shall not covet thy neighbour's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to thy neighbor.
Exodus 20:17

Jealousy or envy causes one to become malicious inside and secretly wish ill-will towards another. That ill-will or spite is usually released through sarcasm, gossip, or remarks filled with malice in order to hurt the other person in an attempt to put them in their so-called place. Self-centered people manifesting envy usually try to glorify themselves because of their lack.

Envy is the dislike felt toward another because they have a position, possession or quality one desires. You want it, but you want it without having to pay the cost for it. It's a free-ride type of desire.

Medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas said of Envy:
Envy according to the aspect of its object is contrary to charity, whence the soul derives its spiritual life... Charity rejoices in our neighbour's good, while envy grieves over it.

Your punishment in Hell will be: You'll be put in freezing water.

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If you wish to avoid this fate, you must practice the Heavenly Virtue of Contentment.

To do this, you must become moderate in your wishes. Contentment can come either from having more or wanting less. The contentment provided by the latter is seven times more durable than the former. We must learn to be satisfied with our lot in life even when we don't have a lot. In other words, always be content with what you have.

Give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs! For if I grow rich, I may become content without God. And if I am too poor, I may steal.
Proverbs 30:8-9

If you’d like to check out the other sins in this series, here are the links:  Pride, Wrath, Sloth  Lust, and  Gluttony.