The 'green-eyed monster'

I think I know what’s always driven the “religious right,” more specifically its desire to remake American society in its own image: Envy. Of course, we don’t often hear sermons on that “deadly sin” in most pulpits; I don’t ever recall hearing one.

Defined by definitions.net as “spite and resentment at seeing the success of another,” envy is always sin if for no other reason than it’s a result of taking one’s focus off God; in other words, as much as anything it’s idolatry, which of course God despises. I’d say that it’s part of the reason that, as much as people and organizations have said they want to improve the spiritual climate in our country, they have actually pushed it backwards.

That envy first flared up on a grand scale in 1992 when Bill Clinton was running for president and continued after his election — it seemed that lying and gossip were no longer classified as sins as long as deposing him was the goal.  Remember that the late Jerry Falwell produced that propaganda piece “The Clinton Chronicles” in order to smear him; I first heard about it at a local Christian radio station, and others began to pile on. (Niccolò Machiavelli, eat your heart out.)

Eventually, however, thanks largely to the Fox News Channel, that resentment toward Clinton became mainstream; you no longer needed to hear Pat Robertson’s pronouncements about the country going to hell because of, shall we say, the “wrong people” being in power. (I need to warn you: If too many people in the “world” agree with you, that might be a sign that you’re not following God.)

More to the point, however, that if you’re obsessed with the idea of power centered in a few “élites,” especially if they’re liberals in comparison and whether in politics or the media, you just might be suffering from envy. Of course the idea of eliminating such people and institutions may sound attractive to the resentful; remember, however, that there is power out there and someone will have it — and it certainly won’t be you. That’s why envy can never be satisfied — it’s actually an addiction.

But what about the civil-rights movement, “Black Lives Matter” and other groups agitating for social and economic justice — wouldn’t they be similarly envious? I’d have to say no. None of them have said that they want to replace people at the top with themselves; they simply wanted their voices to be heard and have always been willing to work with those who disagree with them. They have argued only for equal opportunity and respect. Is that too much to ask? Apparently so.

This might explain evangelicals’ support of the oafish Donald Trump once he won the Republican nomination for president — the only thing that mattered is that he defeated Hillary Clinton. Not only that, but since he’s been president he’s has tried to overturn President Barack Obama’s achievements — the Affordable Care Act, the DACA and climate change edicts among them. He and most of his supporters apparently can’t stand to see anyone not of their party doing well by doing good for the country and, for that reason, have in the process split the country even wider than it had been.

Here’s the thing, however: God cannot work through dirty hearts, so if you believe that Trump will usher in a spiritual revival, as some have insisted, you need to read His Word because things don’t work like that. “But we don’t want to live in an immoral country,” you say.

So why, then, are you cooperating with it?