Envious people always complain about “unfairness”
The biblical parable of the prodigal son’s return has been repeatedly ridiculed in the modern journalism. Its distorted plot is usually presented as follows: someone, let’s say, has left his political party for another party and then has returned to his own political environment, and the leader of the party forgives him. Comparing the story with the Scripture, I think, is not so applicable because, in particular, this story is more about sincere and unselfish repentance and similar sincere forgiveness rather than the political or economic interests.
However, there is one more character in this parable – the older brother, who unlike the “prodigal son,” has displayed (or he thinks he has displayed) an exemplary behavior in the absence of his brother, and now he is embarrassed to know why his relative who has sinned is so easily granted forgiveness. “I’m so good, aren’t I, thinks this “exemplary” brother, – why this profligate should have the same privileges that you have. What an injustice!” If he thinks so, then his earlier “right conduct” was not so sincere and was calculated to be compensated. And when a person compares his status to another person’s status and is embarrassed of this comparison, it has one name – envy.
One of the seven deadly sins is closely associated with others, for example, pride does not allow a person to tolerate that someone is equal to him or better of him, and the laziness, as we can easily see in our today’s life, leads to the fact that people who have not raised a finger and therefore, not achieving anything in the life envy those who have achieved something. While, I am sure that the key your own success is in praising the others’ success. The 8th century Christian thinker John of Damascus wrote, envy is pain over the good fortune of others: pity is pain over the evil fortune of others.
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In that sense, of course, the mass media, and in the last decade, especially the Internet, have opened a wide arena for this sin. Any beautiful woman, any successful artist or entrepreneur is becoming a target of massive attack, during which, the commentators and disseminators get satisfaction to their not so beautiful passions. The crowd has always liked downing successful people from the pedestals and plunge them into the mud. Simply, the virtual field has made this age-old desire obvious, and any person who is absorbed in the internet gossips for 10 minutes can get a serious psychological injury. Moreover, it seems to me that the Christian teacher was right, which I quoted, by contrasting envy and pity.
Just as the crowd envies the fortune of others, similarly, it does not pity the people in pain. This is the reason why the news about the accidents, disasters, crimes and the war are the best “sold” over television and on the internet. People who are so fond of them may formally say, “Oh, oh dear, oh dear, what’s going on,” but inwardly, they rejoice that it has not happened to them. Envy, of course, exists also at the “national level”. “Wow, what a nation are we, what a damned country is this, I wish we were French or Chinese.” Or, “Why did the Queen of England go to Turkey instead of coming to Armenia? Yeah, it is clear, she was bribed by the Turks.” Being compared with others every second and therefore, “grieving” deviated both the person and the nation from its main task, which is working on itself. Indeed, we should be familiar to the experience of others, but as a lesson to learn, as an example, as a guideline, but never as a subject of envy.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
