Proverbs 14:30
A sound heart is the life of the flesh:
but envy the rottenness of the bones.
Envy may come in many forms, but it dissolves any form it takes.
"Nominalism is the tribute that the lukewarm pays to hot and cold." — Douglas Wilson
The lukewarm envies the conviction of the hot by signing up for the sweat without showing up in the heat of battle.
The hypocrite envies the reputation of the virtuous by acting respectable while indulging in disrespectful acts.
"Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius" — Fulton J. Sheen
The jealous envy the genius by despising the disparity in their gift sets.
The lukewarm knows enough to act hot. The hypocrite knows enough to act virtuous. The jealous knows enough to wish for more. In other words, the lukewarm, the hypocrite, and the jealous all know two things: (1) they are not what they pretend to be, and (2) they ought to pretend to be it rather than wear what they are proudly.
"No man who says 'I’m as good as you' believes it. He would not say it if he did. The St. Bernard never says it to the toy dog, nor the scholar to the dunce, nor the employable to the bum, nor the pretty woman to the plain. The claim to equality, outside the strictly political field, is made only by those who feel themselves to be in some way inferior. What it expresses is precisely the itching, smarting, writhing awareness of an inferiority which the patient refuses to accept. And therefore resents. Yes, and therefore resents every kind of superiority in others; denigrates it; wishes its annihilation." — C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
No comments:
Post a Comment