Mon., Feb. 24, 2014
Deacon Robert Banet
Hey, Charlie. what’s up? You look more puzzled than usual.
I’ve been praying the psalms, you know, and I’m stuck on one of them.
Namely?
“His prosperity stirred my grief.”
Ah, I can seem why. I think I understand it but people I’ve talked to can’t ever seem to see my way.
So it must be a pretty complicated passage?
Not really. It’s just that some people don’t have that particular temptation.
A temptation?
Yes, it’s envy. Envy, not meaning the harmless kind that say’s “Oh, I envy you! You’ so cool.”
Isn’t that what envy is?
Envy is one of the capital sins. It means you are sad when somebody else has it good and glad when somebody has it bad.
I can’t see that. I never feel that way. I’m glad that my brother-in-law got a better job and I really felt bad when his wife got sick.
Then you’re not a candidate for envy. The devil is prime example of envy. He looked at Eve in the Garden of Eden and hated her because she was so beautiful and so happy.
So he hated her to death, right?
Right. He tempted her to sin, hoping that she would fall for his flattery and promises.
So that’s what the psalmist meant. He felt bad when his neighbor won the lottery.
Yes. And notice that you’re not envious of the Rockefellers or the million dollar basketball player but you’re envious of your next door neighbor.
Well, I’m glad my temption don’t go in that direction.
It’s my opinion that everyone has a special weak spot, an area where they’re especially prone to sin but not so much so in another area.
That makes a lot of sense. I’m going to thank God that I don’t have that weakness.
Yes. And pray for those who do have that soft spot.