Envy of the Devil
Envy of the Devil
Date: 25/7/1975
We pray in the Prayer of Reconciliation and in the Divine Liturgy, saying: “And the death which entered into the world through the envy of the devil, You have destroyed…”.
Thus we see that the devil envies every good work and every successful deed, because this righteousness and this success are against his satanic plan in resisting the Kingdom of God on earth—whether with regard to individuals or groups.
The devil is always toiling in fighting the children of God, and his toil is in vain.
And when the devil finds that he has labored in vain in fighting goodness, and that his effort has brought no result, he increases in hatred and grows in envy toward the children of God, and his wars become more fierce. After being hidden wars, they reveal themselves openly and without shame, pressing upon the children of God relentlessly. But God “does not leave the rod of the wicked to rest on the lot of the righteous” (Psalm 124:3).
Therefore, in every good work, expect the envy of the devils, and do not fear them.
Thus we see that in the rite of ordaining a new monk, a passage from the book of Joshua the son of Sirach is read to him, saying:
“My son, if you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for all temptations.”
And in this same meaning, we read in the homilies of Mar Oghris, where he says to the worshiping monk: “If you begin pure prayer, be ready for everything that comes upon you.” He means: be prepared for the wars of the devil which he stirs up against you out of envy for your holy worship.
Miserable is this devil, who spends his life in envy, hatred, and warfare!
Knowing that his envy does not harm the children of God as much as it harms himself and increases his eternal punishment. This envy also increases his distress, sorrow, anguish, and weariness. Any harm that the devil attempts to bring upon the children of God is an external and unreal harm that does not touch their eternity, and God quickly delivers them from it.
In his envy of the children of God, the devil may fight them directly, as in the case of his envy of the righteous Job. He may also fight them through his human agents.
Whether by this way or that, his envy will end in nothing. For the grace of God intervenes and stops his evil work, he and all his wicked demons. The Lord arises, and all His enemies are scattered, and all who hate His holy name flee from before His face.
And even if the devil appears successful at first, he must ultimately fail.
In the devil’s envy of the righteous Job, it seemed at first that the devil had succeeded in his plan and triumphed over Job: he destroyed his house, killed all his children, scattered all his wealth, struck him with severe sores from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, and made his friends reproach and shame him. But soon the matter turned to the opposite: the Lord visited Job and restored to him double all that he had lost.
The devil suffers from his envy before he harms the children of God.
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