“Of all the sins, only envy is no fun at all” (Joseph Epstein), and it’s “the most joyless of the Seven Sins” (Jeri Holladay). No wonder the bible says, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” (Prov. 14:30)
The best way to define “envy” is this: Weeps when the other celebrates; Celebrates when the other weeps. Of course, we don’t blatantly show our glee, but as Rebecca De Young has pointed out in her book, Glittering Vices, there are some clear manifestations of envy: feeling offended at the talents, successes, or good fortune of others; reading false motives into others’ behavior; belittling others; false accusations; backbiting; slander; arousing, fostering, or organizing antagonism against others; teasing or bullying (Cf. p. 45.). The green eye monster is self-destructive at the end!
God doesn’t want to deal with superficiality; He wants us to go deep and look at what needs to be cleaned up in the secret closets of our hearts!
