ENVY in HELL

                     Did you see the INTRODUCTION to this A to Z series? Check it out here.

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 attribute belonging to (someone else).



It's hard to imagine a sin that will more likely abound in hell than ENVY. The longing for some relief, for something better than what is being experienced there, is only natural and obvious. And since those who go to hell are absolutely bound to bring their sin with them--unforgiven, uncovered and uninhibited--the "discontented and resentful longing" will flourish wildly.

Of course, God always expected us to grow and improve, to make gains and to advance. He told Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Sometimes people see these instructions and react strongly against them, but I think that is only because we know the sinfulness of mankind (because we know the sin in our own hearts). We know nothing of a world or a civilization without the impact of sin on its history or its relations or even its geography.

Without ENVY and its ilk, such as COVETOUSNESS, we would have been fully capable of "subduing" the earth and "ruling" over it without any undo or objectionable consequences. Look at this definition of COVET, which was actually prohibited emphatically in the 10th Commandment (Exodus 20:17).

COVET

verb: to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others:

If only we could set out to grow and improve and prosper without being prompted to take unfair advantage, by the likes of ENVY! And if only those choosing hell could escape its ongoing ravages. But the spiteful and venomous fruit of ENVY will only "grow, and improve, and prosper" into eternity.

Exodus 20:17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

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