The risks of preaching envy
By Lant Pritchett
Pope Francis recently weighed in on
the economics of inequality. As a professional in that field, I could respond
by detailing his errors of fact and reasoning. Maybe some other time. For now,
I think that if the pope can pronounce on economics, then it’s only fair that I
-- a full-time preacher of economics -- should be allowed to opine on his grasp
of Christian morality.
By dwelling on inequality, the pope is
promoting envy. The Catholic Church, I had always understood, disapproves of
envy, deeming it one of the seven deadly sins. I would have expected Francis to
urge people to think of themselves in relation to God and to their own fullest
potential. Encouraging people to measure themselves against others only leads
to grief. Resenting the success of others is a sin in itself.
The first sin outside the Garden of Eden
was Cain’s slaying of his younger brother, Abel, out of envy that the Lord had
accepted Abel’s offering but not his. God told Cain: “If you act rightly, you
will be accepted; but if not, sin lies in wait at the door.” (Genesis 4:7)
Worry about your standing with God, not about what others have or don’t have.
The Ten Commandments conclude
with: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your
neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that
belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:17)
The New Testament reports that the early
church “had everything in common” (Acts 4:32), a situation into which two of
the deadly sins quickly intruded. Greed first, with Ananias and Sapphira lying
to protect their property. (Acts 5:1-11) Then envy, as “the Hellenists
complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the
daily distribution.” (Acts 6:1) What was the response of the apostles? That
this petty envy was a problem, but beneath their concern: “It is not right for
us to neglect the word of God to serve at table.” (Acts 6:2)
While Jesus repeatedly preached against
the love of riches, he was urging people to respond to a call to God and to
become “rich to God.” It was not an appeal for people to resent the riches of
others and obsess about material inequality. Jesus, when asked to remedy
inequality, turned the focus back on envy and greed.
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