The BEMA Podcast 477: Vice & Virtue — Envy
Oct 16, 2025
Brent and Reed dive into the complexities of envy, using The Talented Mr. Ripley to illustrate its consuming nature. They differentiate envy from covetousness, highlighting how it distorts identity and fosters zero-sum thinking. Exploring Aquinas' views, they discuss envy’s harmful social effects and its opposition to love and joy. The hosts examine cultural tendencies to leverage envy for competition, lined with biblical examples of Cain and Abel. Practical strategies to combat envy are shared, promoting self-examination and celebrating others.
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Envy Targets Identity Not Things
- Envy is less about wanting possessions and more about wanting an identity or status someone else embodies.
- Reed says envy treats goodness as zero-sum, believing another's flourishing diminishes your own.
Envy Feeds On Comparative Self‑Worth
- Envy grows from insecurity and a comparative sense of self-worth rather than intrinsic value.
- Reed notes envy's conviction that goodness can't be shared fuels resentment and withering of self.
How Envy Escalates Into Harm
- Aquinas maps envy into escalating behaviors from detraction and whispering to engineered harm and hatred.
- Reed summarizes envy as 'wrath with low self‑esteem' that can culminate in despising the envied person.
