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Envy "There are six things the Lord hates-no, seven things he detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord among brothers (Proverbs 6: 16-19)." The Judeo-Christians Scriptures tell us about many envious people. In two classic stories we find King Saul trying to kill David because of envy, and Joseph's brothers sell him as a slave because of envy. There are many others. Our Scripture points to things the Lord hates and the reader might suggest that not one of the above mention the word envy. But if we pause for a moment to look at all of the stories we find in the Bible that tell about someone being envious of someone else, what we find is that every one of the things the Lord has mentioned above are manifested in those envious individuals. It is extremely sad to see how often we profess to be persons of faith, and yet our behavior exemplifies every single attribute that is despised by the Lord. We find that when we are jealous of another co-worker we may have a tendency to lie about them, we may look at them with haughty eyes, we may plan evil in our hearts, or we may spend a great amount of time sowing discord. Why? The answer is complex. If we ask psychologists they will most likely give us a million reasons. But if we allow the biblical stories of envy to enlighten we find people that are not grounded in God. We find people that place self above others. We find individuals whose identity is not grounded in God. And therefore, others are insignificant outside of whatever role they may play in furthering that individual's mission. It was hard for the apostles to understand the Messiah Jesus portrayed. After all, they were sure that their Messiah would come in the line of David, a warrior who would destroy all those who had abused them. Therefore, how could their Davidic Messiah say that He was not a warrior but a suffering servant as described in the book of Isaiah? Jesus would exemplify the ultimate state of being as he who would lie down his life for others. If we find our identity grounded in God's word and not in our self seeking attitude, then we would not envy others, but instead respect them and love them above ourselves. Meditation: How often do we place others above us?
Jorge L. Valdes, Ph.D.
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