Devil's Envy

God did not make death, nor does He rejoice in the destruction of the living. For He fashioned all things that they might have being; and the creatures of the world are wholesome, and there is not a destructive drug among them nor any domain of the netherworld on earth, for justice is undying. For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who belong to his company experience it.

I absolutely love this passage from last Sunday’s first reading; there’s so much meat to it.

God did not make death, nor does He rejoice in the destruction of the living. He created us, male and female to be fully alive, eternally alive, and we can get a glimpse into how much the separation from Him and Adam and Eve caused after the Fall. He does not cherish death or destruction. It would be like Michelangelo’s reaction if the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel were to be damage beyond repair – it’s unwanted and heartbreaking.

He fashioned all things that they might have being; and the creatures of the world are wholesome, and there is not a destructive drug among them nor any domain of the netherworld on earth, for justice is undying. All that He creates is wholesome: from dirt to sex, all are beautiful, but it is with the corruption introduced by the Demon that these good things of the Lord are perverted and distorted. It is upon this distortion that the image of God cannot be seen in the reflection of His creations.

For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who belong to his company experience it. Through the envy of the devil! Envy is, according to the Catechism (CCC 2539) a sadness and longing upon spying another’s possessions. Envy is wanting to obtain these things for oneself that disproportionate to the object of desire. What is it that the Demon wanted to obtain from Adam and Eve so badly, as to bring upon the whole human race perpetual death (prior to the sacrifice of the Lamb)? Would it be said that humility and charity are opposite roots of envy – as it is the suppression of the self and the desire to see other thrive? If so, then it can be seen that the Demon, lacking in charity and humility to serve Man, and in turn God-made-Man, wanted to deprive God of His creation, of His work of art? As for the children of the Demon, we know that we are not! For the humilty and charity of the Lamb has won out, and St Paul's word of "so once were you! but you are saved" ring out and reverberate across the centuries.