Seven Deadly Sins (1) Envy

Last night I felt like reflecting a bit on sin - so I thought I would look up the seven deadly sins. After a few minutes flicking through Proverbs my wife asked me what I was doing. She informed me that the seven deadly sins are not in the Bible.... After checking on Wikipedia (!) I was forced to admit that she was correct. So much for my Bible knowledge.

Still, I thought it may be instructive to spend some time reflecting on the seven deadly sins. The list originated with Pope Gregory the Great (d. 604). He described them in his Moralia in Job.

The sins he listed were:

1. Invidia Envy
2. Ira Anger
3. Avaritia Avarice
4. Tristia Sadness
5. Gula Gluttony
6. Luxuria Lust
7. Superbia Pride

Tristia eventually came to be replaced by 'sloth'. However it is interesting to note that each of the original sins (no pun intended) was an excessive desire. Thought to be deadly by Aquinas because they damage the spirit, each of these sins are given a lot of coverage in the Bible. Notwithstanding the lack of any list!

Since the original list was written in Latin, I have taken the time to do some wordsearches of the Latin Vulgate Bible. When I search for all word forms of 'invidia' I discover that envy is mentioned 35 times if you include the Apocrypha.

In Genesis we read of envy in several situations - The Philistines envied Isaac's flocks (Gen.26:14), Rachel envied her sister (30:1) and Joseph's brothers envied him (37:5). The last reference is in the ESV translated 'hated' rather than 'envied.' The Latin root word shades towards ideas of hatred, enmity and enemy, but even when it is used so should preserve something of the flavour of personal envy.

Prov. 14:30, 23:6, 28:22 and Job 5:2 all warn against envy, in the Vulgate. In modern English translations it is rare for all to opt for that explanation of the Hebrew poetry. The ESV does so in only the first of the three proverbs verses, using footnotes to highlight the ambiguity in the second two.

Eccl.4:4 tells us that envy motivates all the work of men, while Eccl. 9:6 states that death will bring an end to envy. While the English translations of Psalm 73 speak of envy, the Vulgate does not use the word, preferring the imagery of growing hot.

Mt 27:18 and Mk. 15:10 tell us that Pilate knew it was envy which motivated the scribes' betrayal of Jesus. Rom 1 and Gal 5 include envy in their lists of sins.

Ironically, orthodox preaching can be motivated by envy (Phil. 1:15) while false teaching can produce envy (1 Tim.6:4). Envy is the natural state all Christians once lived in (Titus 3:3). James 4:5 says, in the Vulgate, that the Spirit envies us, in the sense that he is rightly jealous of our devotion. 1 Peter 2:1 urges Christians to set aside all envy.

Reflecting on all that - Envy is a dangerous sin because it can and does motivate so much in life. It is a sin which inserts itself into our hearts via that which we see, hear and aspire to. As it grows in strength, it can be harnessed to motivate work and achievement. It is the backbone of the capitalist free market, and can just as much inspire Gospel preachers to proclaim Christ. Envy is part of the air breathed on this fallen planet - we all once lived in it. That being the case, I suspect that unless we as Christians have spent some time seriously submitting our hearts to the searching light of the Spirit and Scripture, we may well still be fueling up on some envy to get us through the day.

Augustine suggests that envy is 'sorrow at another person's happiness.' As such it is a negative motivation that can lead only to an inner pathology. The envious person energises themselves, by eating themselves up. On the other hand, being motivated by grace is a refreshingly expansive and wholesome experience. One becomes free to rejoice in others' successes and content to serve in the place God has put you. Cultivating contentedness and thankfulness comes from times of exposure to the riches of Christ, who spent himself on behalf of those who had nothing worth envying.