The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-06-08
me SPIRIT or ENVY.

envy. The proofs that envy is rampant
are abundant. But ii may be doubted
,.heihcr we have any special dlstinc
ron iu this regard as compared with
former times. Envy Is one of the dIsa-
,recablc elements OF society whose rec
moi kept very accurately. PcOb-
.lI, more p.0plc than ever before do
-, teen Clear If this bad spirit. lt
,,o,ll .e strange If wider diffusion
nf,lrh,r.>iuss OF life and OF the grace
Chr.t Jesus did not lessen the mum
b.,af JEALOUS and enyiOus peOple-Iola-
fi,ci,. Bat the newspapers give voice
nras,iOns which IN former times were
kent dumb. or could not speak loud
enough 10 be generally heard. But en-
aiuu. souls abound.
There would be no envy If It had
pleased God 10 give Us all equal gifts
and equal fortune. So'le men are more
highly endowed than others The
others are exposed TO the temptation OF
envy. and some yield TO 1t. The higher
lifts appear in better fortunes. and
ruvvls ouce more stimulat, d. From
This last seed grows an enormous crop
81 envy. Now, there are some purely
Christian views Of this matter. One is
that the more one has Of gift Ct for
tune. the more he must render an ac-
count for. Ii is satisfaction not To
have to account for the use Of a large
fortune 10 a Just judge. The
Christian mind sees that truth in full
hsht. and one cause Of pOpul n envy -
the weakening of the faith of men. \
skeptic can get 10 comfort from think
inr of the day Of reckoning; Chris
tian can not desire to have a large ac-
count 10 render lie can not help feel
lng that be- might fail 20 use his Lord 5
money wisely. ano that the failure
would he fatal. In the measure in
which We apply this Christian doctrine
e accountability ID the case, we shall
hc easily free from the spirit of envy.
Who can think of a large fortune and
not say: VINO Dis sufficient for these
things: Who can carry that load Of
responsibility past the judgmenl-seat!
The Christian is further prOttc tcd by
the knowledge that envy Is forbidden.
We are not permitted To be onvious. 1t
Is "A sin which thrust us head into the
carly churches. and was rtbukod often.
The apostles had to deal. Is we have TO
deal. with the diyeIslti,s of fortune and
Gifts. and to condemn the enylOus
spirit. To bad man 1t may mean
nothing that envy is wrong, To Chris
iian that ought TO mean everything. III
il Is wrong, who Will haTbOr the criml-
nal feeling in a soul con,ecratcd TO
Chri.t's service? il is true that envy
Gets finer names. |. Is called right
eOus concern for the just, and 'lnd!g-
nation against wr TX But good
Christian may easily find the criminal
feeling under these or any other dis
cmses. The good man viii hunt out
and cxpel the wretch.
Another check on the growth Of envy
in a Christian soul Is the pam the bad
ru,st make-. a Christian 5 right Is
peace OF soul. IL is the precious iuheri-
lance OF al the sons Of God. Now
there i, no trOuhlc-maker like envy.
Where envy Dis there cannot be peace.
Fnvv rarely hurts its object. lis stab
Is delivered at the heart in which 1t
dw,H-. L. kills Joy. murders rest, No
man eau long have Christian peace and
indulge the spirit of envy. The foul
guest fills the whole house with pain
What we prize most should be the peace
~.
jesus Christ cannot be an cnvi0us per
son. Along with this fact about envy
We may wisely consider the fact that
envy blinds men. and mlsicads. The
en,l0us man cannot sec Alright or rca-
son souudlv. he becomes passionate.
full oi inytctivcs and Of ali uncharlta-
bleness. All Of us have seen these
transformations wrought by envy. IN
short. envy makes a man fool, and
makes him wicked.
Remedies are. first, 90 think less Of
TN, present world. ana more OF the
world to come You have no promise
of a heaven here, Of an earthly para
oi.e. IL Is yOnder that the wicked
cease from troubling. Secondly, to
think more calmly on your merits.
May be you are better than your pros
porous neighbOr. But God alone knows
Low that Is. You assume too much
when YOU decide 10 IN your favor. But
this i- true-the poorest Of Us has more
than he deserve. rs sinners by birth
and act. We are out.awed from
an appeal 90 justice. The one
thing We dare not ask OF God Is
this Justice IL would strip US Of our
little all. Thirdly. may be the envied
man is not happy. Nine times in ten ne
D., not. He has gifts, and repines with
the more they give him because they
do not give enough. He has fortune
and can not enjoy il. Something Is
wong inside of his envied outside, and
il. does not take much to make a fat
soul miserable. Fourthly. IN sober, sol
emu earnest we write That the real Joys
of lfe ere for the most part given 10 the
moor Of Chrlst's kingdom. The house
maid singing in the garnet is happier
tban her rich mistress. L. is the divine
mode OF equahziug things. a last
remedy is TO enjoy by content in 1t our
less. and 70 forget all the tents Of pride
and vain glory. A whole world Of JOY
may await rs in this realm OF Christian
entment.-Pittsburg Advocate.