Passion of Envy

About Bishop St. Theophane the Recluse

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September 22 (October 5)

Eph. 6:18-24, Lk. 4:22-30

People of Nazareth "wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth" [Lk. 4:22], but nevertheless they did not believe Him: their envy stood in the way, as the Lord Himself has revealed.

Basically, any passion is contrary to righteousness and truth, but envy is more so than anything else, for its essence is deception and evil. This passion is the most vicious and venomous, both for those who harbor it and for those at whom it is directed. There is a trifle of envy in anyone whenever we see ourselves outdone by someone equal or even inferior to us; then, if our selfishness gets disturbed, envy begins eating away our heart. This is not so painful when we have our own opportunity to excel; but if the road to success is blocked by that very person whom we are envious to, then the envy is unstoppable and reconciliation impossible. The envy dictates that the adversary must be ruined, and will not rest until it achieves its goal — or until we have ruined ourselves...

However, those who are kind, in whom compassion is stronger than selfishness, do not suffer from envy. This fact offers a sure remedy against envy for everyone: strive to induce kindness in yourself, particularly towards those who have caused your envy, to make it known through your actions, — and see your envy waning right away. Repeat this procedure a few times, and. with Gods help, part with envy for good. But if you leave envy untreated, if you do not vanquish your selfishness, do not force yourself to do good to the object of your envy, — than your passion will torment you to your death.

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