Invidia – envy; from invidere, “to look against, to look in a hostile manner;” pain experienced at the sight of [another’s] wealth, prestige, or authority
Wikipedia, Invidia and Envy
Envy – an emotion which “occurs when a person lacks another’s superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it;” pain at the sight of another’s good fortune.
What is Invidia? What Constitutes Envy?
Invidia – envy/jealousy/spite/ill will; hate/hatred/dislike; use of words/acts to arouse
Latdict (Invidia) and Oxford (Envy) dictionaries
Envy – (noun) a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck; (verb) desire to have a quality, possession, or other desirable thing belonging to (someone else)
Invidia is Latin for envy. Most of us have been envious of someone at some point; whether it be traits or possessions of another person, most of us have wanted that which was not ours and felt resentment over it. Wanting more seems to be a common and natural human trait, and using what someone else has or can do to spark inspiration is a great thing. However, we should take precautions against letting that inspiration and want fester into a wound of resentment.
Wanting more is fine, and being inspired by others is great, but we need to use proper framing – a healthy dose of gratitude for where we are, what we have, and the opportunities before us – to prevent us from falling into bad mental habits such as resentment of others. Without recognizing how well we have it, it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to keep up with the Joneses rather than striving toward the greatness we are called to.
Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.
Judy Garland
Reeling us back in, invidia (envy) is resentment resulting from someone else’s good fortune or the desire to have (or strip them of) their particular good fortune. It’s one of the deadly sins.
But God is Jealous!
Something that strikes me as incredibly frustrating: we are repeatedly warned against envy in the Bible, but God refers to Himself as jealous when issuing the ten commandments of the covenant. I can’t even hide behind semantics: one of the Latin words used shows that His is a different kind of jealousy, but another term used is precisely the word we are warned against in Proverbs. Here:
Noli adorare deum alienum Dominus Zelotes nomen eius Deus est aemulator:
Exodus 34:14 (Vulgate)
Adore not any strange god. The Lord His name is Jealous, he is a jealous God.
From this, we can translate the terms until we figure out which one is associated with “jealousy.” Given that “His name” is a proper noun, it sticks out as the only term capitalized that isn’t Lord or God.
Zelotes – one who is jealous; who loves with jealously (God); who loves with zeal (Ecc)
Latdict dictionary
However, in addition, we also have “aemulator.” This translates to emulator or imitator, but paring it down to its base, we find it means jealous. This is the exact same term used in the warning against envy in Proverbs:
Non aemuletur cor tuum peccatores sed in timore Domini esto tota die:
Proverbs 23:17 (Vulgate)
Let not thy heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.
This is difficult for me to wrap my head around because I don’t associate God with any sins – particularly not the deadly sins – so why is the same exact term used in warning to us to not do precisely how God describes Himself? Doesn’t this disturb the senses? I got the feeling there’s already a term paper on this, so I looked around. I’m convinced but not enthralled with the answers I’ve been able to find so far: context.
Justified Jealousy
When God refers to Himself as jealous, He is guarding that which rightly belongs to Him: worship. In contrast, when we refer to the sin of envy, we resent something that (rightly) belongs to another person: fame, fortune, looks, abilities, treatment, stuff, stuff, and other stuff. This world owes us nothing, so wanting for anything is unjust and thus sinful. A couple of Reddit users explain it in their own words:
If I was holy, and worthy of all praise and adoration then it would be permissible for me to be jealous when worship that should be reserved for me was misplaced. However, I am a sinful man, worthy of worship from no one. Therefore, jealousy is sin for me because its an unjustified resentment. With God this is not so. His jealousy is justified as He is actually due our adoration.
JoelKizz
JoelKizz‘s statement is very accurate, but it is also so pointed as to require extrapolation: I don’t expect (or want) anyone to worship me; maybe some want to be worshiped, so they will find it applicable, but I’m not interested in it. Still, this example provides a base to extrapolate from, regardless of what we expect or want. Again, pick your poison: fame, fortune, looks, abilities, treatment, or stuff; it all shakes out the same: if it isn’t rightly ours, we have no right to be jealous of it.
Jealousy is not envy. Jealousy is being protective of what you already possess, which is a good trait. Envy is the resentment caused by desiring what someone else possesses.
Zyracksis
Zyracksis takes the shotgun approach: broader and with less precision – including more friendly fire. I proffer being protective of what you have is not always a good trait, and that there are other nuances the first sentence fails to take into consideration. However, I found this helpful with developing an understanding of the topic and in the context of the full conversation.
Summary: Invidia and Envy
The sin of envy is unjustly wanting something that belongs to another resulting in discontent and resentment. That something could be material (such as a car) or immaterial (such as a position) or anything in between (such as a clothing size – I’m not sure where that fits… Did I mention I enjoy puns?). God is jealous of our time, attention, and worship – but He deserves all of these things, so His jealousy is justified; in contrast, God has given us everything and owes us nothing, so anything we are envious of is unjust.
Putredo ossuum invidia:
Proverbs 14:30 (Vulgate)
Envy is the rottenness of the bones.
Armed with knowledge about what envy is, we’re equiped to look at the virtues that fight against it. (Are you excited? I’m excited.)
What are your thoughts on envy? Do you have insight to add about God’s jealousy? I’m curious to hear it. Please let me know in the comments!
