Envy

By Martha Omede

Have you ever heard anyone talk about an "evil eye" or green eye? The word translated "envious" in some places in the Bible is the Greek term that literally means "evil eye." We can translate Greek as envy because that word comes from the Latin words that mean "to look against." Envy is just that: we "look against" someone who in some area is a level or two above us. We don't actually have the power to wish that person sickness or bad luck or death, but we do not wish that person well; we may actually wish him or her harm. We look at him or her with an evil eye.

DEFINITION

Bertrand Russell said "Envy is the art of counting the other fellow's blessings instead of your own; he also said that envy was one of the most effective causes of unhappiness. Not only is the envious person rendered unhappy by his envy, but they also wish to inflict misfortune on others.

Harold Coffin also defined envy to be like a tiny devil on your shoulder that whispers words into your ear, gnashes on your soul and makes life into something that is often filled with suffering and much negativity. Or the envy can just be something that irritates and distracts you from time to time.

Envy may also be defined as an emotion that occurs when a person lacks another's superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desire it or wishes that the other lacked it.

Envy can be a hidden emotion, kept under a smile so others don't see it. But on the inside, it can be weakening.

Envy simply means looking to get through the feeling or desire to get what belongs to others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Martha Omede
• Release date: Aug 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393158110

Book preview

CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING ENVY

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Have you ever heard anyone talk about an evil eye or green eye? The word translated envious in some places in the Bible is the Greek term that literally means evil eye. We can translate the Greek as envy because that word comes from the Latin words that mean to look against. Envy is just that: we look against someone who in some area is a level or two above us. We don’t actually have the power to wish that person sickness or bad luck or death, but we do not wish that person well; we may actually wish him or her harm. We look at him or her with an evil eye.

DEFINITION

Bertrand Russell said "Envy is the art of counting the other fellow’s blessings instead of your own; he also said that envy was one of the most effective causes of unhappiness. Not only is the envious person rendered unhappy by his envy, but they also wish to inflict misfortune on others.

Harold Coffin also defined envy to be like a tiny devil on your shoulder that whispers words into your ear, gnashes on your soul and makes life into something that is often filled with suffering and much negativity. Or the envy can just be something that irritates and distracts you from time to time.

Envy may also be defined as an emotion that occurs when a person lacks another’s superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it.

Envy can be a hidden emotion, kept under a smile so others don't see it. But on the inside, it can be weakening.

Envy simply means looking to get through the feeling or desire to get what belongs to others.

HISTORY OF ENVY

Brief evolutionary history 

Nerve signals produced a sharp pain of jealousy in James, when the boss praises his colleague's report. Those signals originate from nervous system with millions of years of evolutionary history. Those systems enabled animals to survive in a hostile world. They respond within very short period when they sense danger. Within the blink of an eye, the animal's body prepares for fight, or they get ready to run. Fear or anger makes them respond immediately. Adrenalin increases, heart beats increase to improve blood supply, blood pressure rises and breathing changes. Their stomachs begin to ache. The excretory system prepares to clear toxin. For James, the unintentional feelings of anger or fear are caused by the natural ability of his nervous system to sense incredibly subtle patterns of danger.

Scriptural History of Envy

The genesis of envy began with the ambition of Lucifer, I will make myself like the Most High, and moved over to Eden where the serpent deceived man out of envy that man would take his place: You will be like God... (Isaiah 14:14; Genesis 3:1-6). Envy was seen in the first human family as the crafty move to the first recorded act of murder (Genesis 4). Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother (1 John 3:12), allowed envy to prepare the ground of his heart to murder (Genesis 4). But envy was also the motive behind the most violent crimes in history: the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy. (Mark 15:10)

It’s very crucial to note that envy is strengthened by sins like ingratitude and displeasure. It feeds on a creeping spirit of dislike with the dangerous possibility of becoming hatred. Envy destroys joy and a joyful community. 

Someone stated that envy is poison whose cure is difficult to find. The only weapon powerful enough is love — which ...does not delight in evil. (1 Corinthians 13:5-6)

As it gets stronger, envy targets its object and desires to destroy it. An envious person doesn’t just want what another person has; he hates him for having it. The envious person wants to see you fall; to see you lose; to see you suffer. Envy is evil and violent but it eventually destroys the person who takes pleasure in it. Envy rots the bones, but a heart at peace gives life to the body. (Proverbs 14:30)

Envy fuels a form of social disunity. It’s a destructive behavior that can be found early in life as siblings telling on each other and find pleasure in seeing a brother or sister get in trouble. But don’t think the behavior is left with childhood. Adults are just as guilty, even in more disguised ways. This is a universal evil found in every culture and class of people. It’s often common among the purified and sanctified religious people. The Germans call it schadenfreude – a twisted and sadistic pleasure in the misfortune of others. In other words, it is a corrupted and negative pleasure gotten in someone else’s failure.

CHAPTER 2: THE ROOTS OF ENVY

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Proverbs 14:30 says that envy causes rottenness to the bones. So, envy generally, is a bad thing. In the book of Galatians 5, The Bible speaks about the works of the flesh, of the seventeen, envy is the fourteenth on the list while murder follows, so that goes to tell us how grievous envy is. Generally, when you are envious, it’s very likely that you are already setting yourself up with murder possibilities.

To a large extent, envy cannot stand on its own while hatred is the foundation of envy. You can’t envy someone you love. I’d be happy with my friend’s progress and rejoice with him, but envy is a product of hatred. If you dislike a neighbour who just got a car and you wished that you owned the car, then you become envious but if it’s a neighbour you love, and had been believing God together, when he prospers, you’ll be very happy to share his testimony as your own.

Here, we have proven based on this foundation; there can’t be envy in the real sense of it without hatred showing up somewhere. So, when there’s hatred, there’ll be envy, and when there’s envy, there will be a murderous thought according to the stories read in the Bible as in the case of Cain and Abel, the serpent and man. The serpent made sure that man was separated from God through sin. So, certainly, we can conclude