Eyes Sewn Shut

               Dante in his writing on purgatory portrayed envy as blind beggars sitting by a wall–their eyelids sewn shut. The symbolism was to reveal that envy is a blinding sin—an envious person has sewn himself up with his poisonous thoughts.

            God wants his people to be content: “11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances”(Phil 4:11.) NIV

            Let's rid ourselves of envy.

Source: THE 7 SINS OF HIGHLY DEFECTIVE PEOPLE by Rick Ezell

    

Satan Tempts a Monk

            Envy is one vice that everybody has experienced. The story is told in of a monk whom several demons of hell desired to tempt.

            It seemed to them that a big church would swell his heart with pride. But it did not.

            Their next strategy was lust. They sent a gorgeous woman his way; however, that temptation was not successful.

            Satan watched their failure with bemusement. He used it as an opportunity to teach those demons a lesson. He informed them, “Permit me to show you how it is done.”             

           He whispered to the monk, “Your brother was just made Bishop of Alexandria.”             Immediately, a cloud of envy transformed the monk’s face.

            “That is what I recommend,” the Devil told the demons.

            James was well aware of the work of the devil. He writes, “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”(James 3:16.) ESV

            Let's rid ourselves of envy.

Source: THE 7 SINS OF HIGHLY DEFECTIVE PEOPLE by Rick Ezell

  

The Statue

            In ancient Greece, they told the story of a city’s desire to honor a great Olympic athlete. The decision was made to erect a statue of him.

            A competitor grew so envious, he committed himself to ruining the statue. Every evening, under the cover of darkness, the competitor took a hammer and chisel and chipped away at the base of the statue.

            One evening, the competitor succeeded in his envy-fueled mission. The statue fell… directly upon him.

            The competitor had literally killed himself with envy.

            The ancient Greeks had a proverb: “Envy slays itself by its own arrows.”

            The ancient Jews had a proverb that went like this, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones”(Prov. 14:30.) NIV 1984

Source: THE 7 SINS OF HIGHLY DEFECTIVE PEOPLE by Rick Ezell

Shop-keep Rivalry

            Envy is a bitter vice. Thomas Lindberg writes of the legend of the two shopkeepers. They were bitter rivals, and their stores were directly across the street from each other.

            Envious, one of the other, they would each day track the other's business. If a customer made a purchase in one store, the proprietor would smile in triumph at his rival.

            The feud ran so deep, that one night, when one shopkeeper had an angel appear to him, the shopkeeper responded in an unimaginable way. The angel told the shopkeeper, "I will give you anything you ask, but whatever you receive, your competitor will receive twice as much. Would you be rich? You can be very rich, but he will be twice as wealthy. Do you wish to live a long and healthy life? You can, but his life will be longer and healthier. What is your desire?"

            The shopkeeper, thought for a moment, and then said, "Here is my request: Strike me blind in one eye!"

“A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot” (Prov. 14:30.)

            

Seven "Deadly" Sins

             I am about to begin a sermon series on “Seven Life-Affirming Virtues.” What I plan on doing is staking out the territory God inhabits (the virtue), and addressing the two extremes that flank either side. Both flanks are sins. For example: the virtue humility is flanked on one side by pride (too high a view of one’s self) and on the other side by low self-esteem (too low a view of one’s self.)

            My story this morning concerns an article I read about DISCIPLESHIP magazine back in 1992. In the article, readers individually responded to a survey by communicating to the editors of the periodical the greatest spiritual challenge of each reader.

            Here is how they ranked:

               1. Materialism

              2. Pride

              3. Self-centeredness

              4. Laziness

              5. (Tie) Anger/Bitterness

              6. (Tie) Sexual lust

              7. Envy

              8. Gluttony

              9. Lying

            If you count materialism as greed, you find all seven of the traditional “seven deadly sins” present.  Notice none of these sins will get you thrown in jail. None will even get you disfellowshipped from today’s churches. As far as the secular and spiritual cultures are concerned, you and I can practice these sins with impunity—free from unpleasant consequences.

            Maybe that is why these sins are called “deadly.”

Feathers

           Here is a good story illustrating the danger of envy. It comes from MOODY’S ANECDOTES:

            There is a fable of an eagle which could outfly another, and the other

didn't like it. The latter saw a hunter one day, and said to him: "I wish you would bring down that eagle."

            The sportsman replied that he would if he only had some feathers to put into his arrow. So the eagle pulled one out of his wing. The arrow was shot, but it didn't quite reach the rival eagle; it was flying too high.

            The envious eagle pulled out more feathers, and kept pulling them out until he lost so many that he couldn't fly, and then the sportsman turned around and killed him.

            When we envy, we most hurt ourselves.

“A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot” (Prov. 14:30.)