envy

In this lyrical essay, Jessie van Eerden reflects on her upbringing in a rural West Virginia church and wonders “if the words of our childhood faith-lives—words like worship, praise, holiness—have any real clout for us when we really stare them in the face as adults and when, out of the corner of our eyes, we see more and more brokenness in the world.”

Fewer measuring devices have more destructive power than those with which we measure ourselves in comparison to others. Those devices are anchored in the power of envy. Envy is the only one of the seven deadly sins that cannot be enjoyed by the sinner. Lust at least leaves its sinner titillated. Pride leaves the sinner […]