Class Envy Is A Sin

Complain the rich aren’t paying enough? You’re living in sin.
Complain the rich get an unfair tax break? You’re living in sin.
Want to soak the rich? You’re living in sin.

Them’s the facts. For anyone who chooses to wear the mantle of Christian to claim otherwise is to show a deep lacking in the understanding of Christian doctrine. And no, Christian doctrine does not have anything to do with “rich worship”.

Proverbs 14:30 “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”
Proverbs 14:34 “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”

Very clearly, envy is a sin. And, very clearly, this sin is a disgrace to our nation.

UPDATE: I asked for, and received, input from another and that person said “perhaps you should include reference to the Ten Commandments, and the prohibition on covetousness.” So here it is.

Exodus 20:17

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or his maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

This is the tenth of the Ten Commandments. And my reading of the Ten Commandments says to me this is the only Commandment that focuses directly on thought instead of actual action. To covet what another has is a thought-sin, as declared by Providence. Jesus did tie thought-sin to other action-sin Commandments, but that is a different discussion.

Covet (from dictionary.reference.com)

to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others: to covet another’s property.
…
To feel blameworthy desire for (that which is another’s). See Synonyms at envy.

Envy (from dictionary.reference.com)

a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another’s advantages, success, possessions, etc.
…
A feeling of discontent and resentment aroused by and in conjunction with desire for the possessions or qualities of another.

Backing up to the Eighth Commandment, Exodus 20:15 says “You shall not steal.” I see this as the action-sin tied to the “covet” thought-sin. If you do not covet it, you will not steal it. And you will not write laws that make stealing it legal.

(end update)

Mark 7:20-23

He [Jesus] went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.'”

Very clearly, Jesus said envying what another has is sinful. As an aside, Jesus very clearly declared the liberals’ current dysphemism of TEA Party activists sinful.

Romans 1:28-32

Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Envy is a sign of a depraved mind. Class envy is a subset of envy. Those who are envious are deserving of death. But they delight in others who also are envious.

There are many more passages about envy. It is not good to envy what others have (and that is a severe understatement).

Matthew 25:14-30 (Jesus speaking)

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. [A talent was worth more than a thousand dollars (in 1985).] Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at one and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

“After a long time the master of those serants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

“‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have in an abundance. Whoever does not have, even that what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'”

It is very clear those who have greater ability (industriousness, ingenuity) will be given more. And they will produce, and keep, more. Those who have lesser ability will be given less. And they will produce, and keep, less. Those who produce nothing out of what they have will have what they have taken from them.

This is Jesus speaking.

Those who want to “soak the rich”, those who complain about how “the rich aren’t paying their fair share”, those who want to redistribute the wealth from the wealthy to the poor are in direct contradiction to Providence. They are practicing class envy, which is a wholly-owned subset of envy. And envy is worthy of death, according to Providence.

Republicans, Conservatives, and, more strongly, Christian Conservatives are against the class envy system of taxation. Democrats and Liberals are heavily for the class envy system of taxation, and in direct confrontation with Providence. The Democrats and Liberals are also in direct confrontation with scientific and historical economic truths in their class envy.

President Obama has made a deal with SEIU such that those who buy the best health insurance and who are in unions do not pay the 40 percent tax (40 percent!) on their plans, but the rest have to pay the tax because their plans are too good. That is clearly a play on envy and punishing those who have better (except for those who are in unions (which support Democrats almost exclusively)). There is no other way to read that.

If you claim to be a Christian and you practice class envy, I strongly suggest you re-evaluate your position and your heart because you are in direct opposition to Providence’s commands.