Second only to the first sin of pride, envy can be the root of a lot of evil. It is at the heart of the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible’s Book of Genesis, which my upcoming novel I’m now writing, titled The Jealous Brother, is based upon. If you’re not familiar with the story, Cain kills Abel out of jealousy, or envy. Adam and Eve, Cain’s parents, later have another child, Seth, who becomes one of the ancestors in the royal line of Jesus. In killing his brother, Cain loses everything, including that birthright. There are many other examples of sibling rivalry in the Bible: Jacob, who steals his brother Esau’s birthright; Joseph and his brothers, who sell him into slavery; and in the New Testament, the Prodigal son and his brother, who complains that he was the good son and got nothing; and Mary and Martha, the latter of whom complains that she is doing all the work and her sister is getting all the credit. You get the picture. Even in the Gospel in today’s Mass, we hear someone from the crowd call to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me,” to which Jesus tells a parable about a wealthy man who plans to store up his riches only to be told he’s going to die that same night. (Luke 12:13-21)  I grew up in a very competitive family (you should come to one of our family reunions!) and my sister and I sometimes competed for our parents’ attention…and I know my kids competed with each other at times as well. I think sibling rivalry is normal, as long as it doesn’t get out of hand. But envy can also be closely linked to some of the other deadly sins like greed, lust and anger. Are you feeling jealous of a sibling, friend, co-worker…who you believe is unfairly getting all of the credit, attention, money or material things instead of you? Try praying for God to remove the feelings that are causing you pain, and then try praying for the other person of whom you’re envious. (not praying for him or her to have a major catastrophe…but praying for his or her happiness!) Lord, help us to turn to you when we feel the powerful clutches of envy sneak into our hearts so that you can remove this terrible sin.
When I am envious of someone, especially someone who I know is doing something wrong and yet still gets praise, if I pray for that person, God gives me a sense of peace. I know I am not supposed to be envious and God helps me get rid of that sin.
Thank you for your response to my blog post! Yes, praying for the other person, even if he or she has wronged me, has always worked! Have a blessed week! Michele