This is the third post in the series on Envy. Click here for Part One and Part Two.
We can overcome envy by pursuing the virtue of zeal. Zeal appears similar to envy, but is a healthy way of comparing ourselves to others. Timothy Perrine and Kevin Timpe give an example of Christine and Cathy:
Christine sees Cathy’s piety. Christine notices her own piety, and then sees that Cathy’s surpasses her own. Christine, desiring to be as pious as possible, sorrows over not achieving a certain level of piety.[1]
Here, the difference between zeal and envy is the comparative notion of self-worth. Envy weeps over the more pious person because it diminishes their perception of self, as Perrine and Timpe say. But zeal weeps because the more pious person reveals her own lack of piety, a way she is grieving God. Perrine and Timpe state,
When a zealous person judges herself to be inferior to another, she implicitly makes appeal to a standard that is independent of herself and the person she is judging to be superior to her. The zealous person recognizes, by her comparison with another, that one can do better along this independent standard than she currently is. But the zealous person does not evaluate her self-worth in terms of comparison with the other. So, the zealous person lacks a perception of inferiority; zeal is not an instance of envy.
The difference between envy and zeal is where we place our identity. The envious find their identity in a comparative hierarchy; the zealous, in relation to God. Rebecca DeYoung writes,
Because the zealous person is already secure in God’s love for her, a love which is not conditioned upon her performance, she is free to look at herself with honest humility and desire to be better.
The envious strive to perform better to prove their worth, whether through achievements, possessions, or talents. The zealous strive to perform better because they know their worth—they believe they are children of God, chosen by grace.
With a secure identity, the zealous are free to admire others—something the envious can never do.[2] Since the envious cannot acknowledge their shortcomings without contributing to their own sense of inadequacy, they can never learn from others. They walk in isolation; they strive by themselves and for themselves. This is pride, and it destroys community.
By contrast, the zealous are free to view another as a model to imitate.[3] Their superior is the goal to be attained rather than a competitor to be surpassed. Because they acknowledge their inadequacy, they can grow from the knowledge of others. This posture of learning, or humility, binds together the body of Christ. Envy breaks fellowship with others; zeal restores it.
[1]Perrine and Timpe, “Envy and Its Discontents,” 234.
[2]Russell, Happiness, 52.
[3]DeYoung, Glittering Vices, 57.
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