Humility is an important virtue for our progress in the spiritual life. It is the foundation of the all the other virtues for without it we are unable to stay open to the effects of grace.
Pride is the opposite of humility. Pride puts a halt into the progress of our spiritual life and closes us off to the gift of grace. One of the ways in which pride manifests itself is through envy. It is the vice of envy which leads towards unhappiness. It was envy which led the angels to grow unhappy which led to their fall and it was envy which led Adam and Eve to be unhappy in the Garden which led to our fall. It is envy which seeks to destroy our relationship with God through the path of unhappiness which it leads us down.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “Envy represents a form of sadness and therefore a refusal of charity; the baptized person should struggle against it by exercising good will. Envy often comes from pride; the baptized person should train himself to live in humility.”
From Book of Sirach we were instructed to “conduct our affairs with humility” and thus the more we humble ourself the more we “will find favor with God.” The Book of Hebrews points out that we have not approached a “gloomy darkness,” but have rather “approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God.” Jesus, Himself, who in our Gospel instructs that we must humble by not desiring to sit in places of honor in order that we may be seen. We do not need to be seen and congratulated in order to be happy, but rather we will discover happiness from the true love which is found in God and our service to all.
We are envious when we see another get attention or see the good that they have accomplished and thus grow sad that we are not the one who is receiving the attention which is given. The envious enjoy flattery, but at the same time they grow angry at ridicule. We must remember that we are not loved by God because something of that we have accomplished, but rather we are loved by God because we are real people who were created in His Image and His Likeness. Grace is something which is real, but we do not receive it as a reward for our glorious accomplishments. We can never progress in the spiritual life on our own behalf, but we do so through the assistance of grace which is a gift that we cannot give to ourself.
We must remember that God wants all of us to be happy. Not just some happiness which is passing by in the present moment, but happiness which is eternal and happiness which will never pass away. If we are to become happy we must begin to practice kindness. Kindness is the only way in which one who suffers from envy can counteract their sin. It is kindness which moves a person forward and encourages them to keep going.
For example a teacher sees a student who is struggling with their work and grows unhappy and begins to yell at them. This will eventually run the student off and cause them to lose hope. Rather, a teacher must use kindness in order to guide their student towards the desired result.
To counteract envy one must learn to use kindness. Instead of growing angry at the good which is accomplished by another they should practice gratefulness for their own gifts as well as the gifts of another. None of us have the same gifts and thus we should grow in our appreciation for this diversity.
