The Orginial 7 Deadly Sins +3, Part IV - Envy

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"Saaaayyyy....that's a really nice computer you got there....Ok, no, I LOVE that computer you got there....dammit, I JUST GOTTA HAVE THAT COMPUTER YOU GOT THERE...Didn't you say you were going on vacation pretty soon?  You wouldn't be taking that computer along for the trip, wouldja?"

Yeah, you guessed it, we're gonna talk about the Deadly Sin of Envy today flokes.  You know what envy entails, dontcha?  See paragraph 1's blatant example, if'n you're not quite sure.

Now, I just gotta say it, we people (yes, and myself in particular) suffer from the essential effects of envy every day.  See, envy, some people believe, is just possession-driven, and just means you wish you had what the Jones's have.  If this were all it meant, and it was a sin we couldn't practice, or we'd suffer dire consequences due to just that part of the definition; capitalism, the driving force of any free-market society, would not exist.  No, in every sense, the true and full meaning of envy, unfortunately also involves the wish to deprive the other of what they have, since they can't have or can't afford to have what the first person has.

Because of the 2nd part of the meaning of the word, I would just have to say that an awful lot of my problems of late have stemmed from this very sin.  That whole ordeal with Jacque Karlson:  one could even go as far as to say that 9/10 of my problems I'm experiencing as of today stem from her envy of everything I had.  A great solid relationship with my pretty, younger wife.  Good friends.  A solid place to live.  Our newly acquired newborn.  A good and faithful following on Twitter, that was fast catching hers.  Mutual good friends on Twitter that she didn't care for me to have, once I had asked her to go.  Which, in turn caused her to try and cost us the baby, our friends, my Twitter friends and following, my place to live, my relationship with my wife...all because we just didn't have room in our very small apartment for 4 adults and a newborn.

Now, try and remember, envy is not only a distinctly different thing than jealousy; it comes in two very different flavors:  Benign and Malicious.  The benign style is the kind that we experience as a democracy and in our capitalistic behavior.  The malicious style, of course, include the wanting of others to suffer as the first suffers...the one who is envious of what we have, the things (and relationships, of course) that cause us to be happy.  They wish to deprive us of those things and people; so that, without those, well, we can be miserable as the first people are; thereby depriving the victims of their happiness.

With the exception of the wonderful relationship and friendship I had with my wife, envy was the better portion of what happened in Jacque's case.  The relationship emotion, of course, was sheer jealousy.  Her relationship with her husband was nothing and in the toilet compared to mine, which would explain why it was the first thing she tried to ruin.

The "grass being greener" on the other side of the fence, that's envy.  Some people are CONSTANTLY in that mode; no matter what they get, or acquire, no matter how many friends and good relationships they have, it doesn't matter....they're in a constant state of envy, and are therefore NEVER happy.  Narcisism also involves envy; generally these people believe others are envious of them, or are always in a state of envy involving others.  This sin serves a needed service with competition, but is deadly with malice at its roots.  Keep a close eye on those who constantly express envy of you, these are the ones likely to be trying to rid you of your happiness....which tends to lead to their twisted happiness.  Right Jacque?  Yeah.

Now, make no mistake, envy and jealousy, they shake hands too, along with other sins of their magnitude and ilk.  And it doesn't take a whole lot to upgrade from envy to jealousy.  If your wife is gorgeous and has great legs, whereas mine is pretty, but just a bit overweight, well, it's possible that I might envy you at first, more than likely in a more benign sense.  However, it wouldn't probably take me long to take the next step up and start flirting with her, should she give me an open door.  Given the proper amount of envy, it might even go to the malice-filled level, taking us into a physical affair; and, because she's SO GOOD at what she does, I might just start discussing how I could get her from you for real.  But, as she says "Oh, I don't wanna lose what I have, this was really all just for fun"....well, then I might just get jealous, which usually means I'm gonna be adding in a little hate and anger into the mix, mostly due to her ability to dismiss my feelings so easily.  Then because she doesn't want me, even though I want her, well, the next best thing might then be to tell her husband about our little afair, just to break them up.  This tends to be where a lot of your sex crimes and possible murders begin to take shape.  Envy can lead to a real bad bunch o' issues, practiced regularly, trust that.

These emotions can easily consume us, and cause us pain, in more than one fashion.  I suggest just foregoing this sin, it's really pretty pointless.  I'd prefer not to have most of what you do, believe that, I've come to discover that with more stuff and more money comes a whole lot more issues, and a lot more worry.  I think I'll just stay over here on my side of the fence...it may not be your color of green, and I might have a few more weeds in my lawn, but at least I don't have to spend as much keeping it looking as nice as yours...:D