Lesson 186. Envy

Probably the most widespread sin in the world, and the most absurd and foolish of sins, is envy.

All of us have experienced this condition in one way or another and know from within what it is. And if there were no envy in us, God would not have given us the commandment, ‘Thou shalt not covet...’

What does an envious person gain? What does he come to possess? Every sin is evil, and each one leads the soul to death. There is no justification for any evil. But sins differ from one another.

Some of them bring brief pleasure, enjoyment, and satisfaction of pride and ambition. But what does envy give? It spoils the lives even of sinful people. And it exists; it cannot be controlled by willpower.

Satan knows perfectly well what this is. He has lived in this state of soul for many thousands of years. And what has he gained as a result of this long period of time? Nothing. The only thing of which he can boast is the souls he has destroyed, which have passed forever into oblivion, without any hope of salvation.

Envy brings no profit; it cannot be a source of happiness or satisfy the needs of the soul. Like a cancerous tumor, it eats away at the soul, depriving it of the blessings and enjoyment of what it already has.

The enemy of the soul envies all of us because we will live forever and love one another, continually develop and be transformed, and one day attain the level of intellectual development that Lucifer possessed before his fall, and then continue to grow, surpassing everything and everyone who exists today. These thoughts drive Satan and his demons into a rage and give them no rest. In his envy of us, he is ready to take us all into the fire, where both we and he will perish together.

There is a parable. A King offered an envious servant a bargain and told him that he could ask for anything he wished, on the condition that his neighbor would receive the same thing, but twice as much. After long and exhausting deliberation, the servant asked to have one of his eyes put out.

Envy is the desire to have what others possess and resentment that I do not have something my neighbor has. Envy is even despair because I do not possess what another person has.

I cease to receive pleasure and joy from what I have if my eye is envious. No matter how greatly my gifts and possessions are multiplied, if my neighbor has the same thing or something good, my happiness comes to an end. The only thing that can satisfy my envy is the opportunity to possess what my neighbor enjoys. But this is unlikely to make me happy.

Of course, not everything is so bleak, and in many of us envy appears in a mild form or is entirely absent. But I can say of myself that I personally know how this sin destroys earthly happiness.

There have been times in my life when I myself gave something to people and then resented the fact that they had it and I did not. Nothing could be more foolish. But how can such an attitude be controlled? How can you fight something that, like a tsunami, has burst into your life and swept over your head? You may even understand that it is wrong, yet you cannot change anything. And how can it be identified? How can it be avoided? And how can it be fought?

While all the other commandments concern my outward behavior in one way or another, the commandment ‘Thou shalt not covet’ touches my inner world, my thoughts, and my feelings. But since God established this prohibition, there must also be power to keep it.

Can I force myself by my own willpower not to envy when this evil is present in my thoughts? I think there can be no more futile undertaking. Yet there are people who, by studying human psychology, discover new principles through which they replace this evil with something else, redirect their attention to more important things, or teach people to have more and become wealthier. But this does not work.

If someone declares that he does not envy, we can be glad for that person and even believe that it is true. But perhaps such a statement would sound like this: ‘Satan is dead, and my carnal nature died with him.’ Unfortunately, however, the enemy of the soul is still alive, and his temptations are very subtle and secretly concealed. If by envy I understand only what is commonly called ‘black envy,’ then I do not see what it really is. It may even include joy over another person’s happiness or gain, while at the same time there is a small feeling of resentment that I do not have it. Sin in its embryonic state does not look very frightening; it is very small and tender, but it gives growth to this seed of evil, and as it grows, it destroys all good fruit.

Do not think, friends, that I am accusing all of you of this sin. But I can say with confidence that love alone does not envy. This is the Biblical position, and this is how it truly is. The absence of envy in my life is determined not by my willpower or my ability to control my thoughts, but by the presence of love in my heart. Everything else simply does not work or helps only for a short time.

Does God envy His creation? A foolish question. And will that same God called ‘Love’ in my heart envy those whom He desires to make happy, those to whom He loves to give everything, those for whom He died? I think the answer is clear to everyone.

It is difficult to shovel darkness out of the heart, but if the light is turned on, the darkness disappears by itself. Where does it go? It simply ceases to exist.

But if I have settled this matter with God, I must remember that this world lives by its own rules, and envy is the engine of progress; it drives commerce, wars and revolutions, hostility and strife. There is no escaping this, but I do not have to take part in it.

God teaches us very simply not to envy. He fills the heart with love, and when this love through me comes into contact with sinful people, it covers all things and has a very good influence on their thoughts and feelings. Love opens eternal prospects for growth to the soul; it gives the water of life to parched hearts and satisfies in itself the true needs of a person. Envy dies wherever love comes. Love establishes its own laws and helps us emerge from any crisis.

Psalm 73 describes the feelings of an envious believer. It was impossible to fight this. But everything was resolved when this believer entered God’s presence. He saw the true state of things and repented.

Love gives the soul everything necessary for life—for Eternal Life.

Imagine a sinner inheriting Eternity. It would be a constant nightmare for the soul. An unclean heart could not endure such glory and splendor, and he would die of envy over another person’s crown and glory.

God has given us a commandment requiring the complete absence of envy from our lives, and it can be kept only by His power, the power of love. The flesh is incapable of obedience at the level of thought.

Every command of God in the law also has a spiritual dimension. For example, one can kill with words, commit adultery in the heart, and steal in the soul, while the tenth commandment reaches into the depths of my being, making me guilty before the law. For ‘all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.’

Love is true freedom from envy, from the spirit of murder, from violence, and from other sins. And since this is so, why do we seek other sources that do not solve the problem? Why do we spend money for that which is not bread, and take that which does not satisfy?

Love is waiting for you, my friend.

1. What new things did you learn in this lesson?

2. Why is envy one of the foolish sins?

3. What reason does the enemy have to envy God’s children?

4. Please give a definition of envy. How do you understand it?

5. What way out has the Lord prepared for sinners?

6. Why does what psychology offers not solve the problem?

7. Why does love resolve the problem of envy in the heart so simply?

8. Please read Proverbs 14:30; 23:6–8; Ecclesiastes 4:4; Genesis 4:6–10; Revelation 12:7; Exodus 20:17; 1 John 2:9–10; 3:4, 6, 8; Romans 6:14, 16, 23; 2 Corinthians 10:5; John 8:36, 44, 47; James 2:10; 3:14; Revelation 22:14 in the light of our lesson.