One of my carving students, whose initials are "JA" offered his face as a model for one of the Seven Deadly Sins. The picture that really resonated with both of us, as we reviewed the digital images in the computer, was the one we chose to represent ENVY. Note the discontented look in the man's face. Look at the pursed, pouting lips, the squinty eyes and the sideways glance.
The Sin
The word ENVY comes from the Latin "invidere", which means "to look at askance" or "to see with malice". Envy is about looking at others and wanting what is theirs, whether it be status, abilities, relationships or goods. Envy is about directing a malevolent will towards another person
Envy is less about acquiring possessions than it is about acquiring what SOMEONE ELSE possesses. Thus it is a sin which gets in the way of having peaceful and loving relationships with others. The Ten commandments identify this sin as "coveting", or wanting for oneself that which belongs to someone else. Many an adulterous relationship started with envying someone else's spouse.
Thomas Aquinas, the medieval theologian, wrote: "Envy... is contrary to charity... Charity rejoices in our neighbor's good, while envy grieves over it." Thus envy violates the great commandment that we "love others as ourselves".
