Driven by envy

"The world is not driven by greed. It is driven by envy," said 98-year-old billionaire Charlie Munger. He made this statement earlier this year at the annual meeting of the Daily Journal newspaper where he is a director. (Source, Tom Huddleston Jr. on CNBC.com.)

Munger said that he has never cared about comparing his riches to the money of others. Although he has amassed a fortune of around $2.2 billion, he understands that it is common for people to become envious. No matter how much someone has, someone else will always have more. According to Forbes, there are more than 1,300 billionaires with larger fortunes than his.

Envy is "built into the nature of things," according to Munger. He added that he cannot understand why people today are not more content with what they have, especially when compared to the hard times previous generations endured. Going back to the 1800s people had poorer living conditions and shorter lifespans.

He claimed that everybody is five times better off than they used to be, they take that for granted. People only think about someone else having more than they do, and that is not fair, they should have it, but they do not.

The Bible has much to say about the subject of envy. The Ten Commandments conclude with the command to not covet your neighbor's possessions, Exodus 20:17.

My late grandfather would attempt to honor the 10th Commandment by saying, for example, "I like that guy's car. I wish I had one like it, and he had one that was even better." This would bypass envy by wishing something better for the person who has what you want.

Have you heard anyone talk about taxing the rich, making large companies pay more taxes or even suggest taking away the tax exemption from churches and religious organizations? They like the idea of redistribution of wealth. They want to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. Perhaps envy is the underlying motivation behind such statements.

In a 2017 interview, Munger said he always tries to avoid feelings of "envy and jealousy" in business. Those types of thoughts can hurt your career because you will be more likely to make biased decisions that could turn out poorly.

Our larger cities are seeing rising crime rates. We see young people smash and grab merchandise at drug stores, gas stations and even Apple stores. They are driven by envy to take things that do not belong to them, and some city leaders refuse to punish them for their crimes.

Do we stop and think that the person robbing the quick shop is five times wealthier than the average person during the Great Depression?

This article cites a 2018 study that found people who are driven by envy are more likely to experience poorer mental health and wellbeing. Also, social media feeds people's feelings of envy and materialism by showing us images of people with luxurious lives.

We see the words, "envy," "jealousy" and "covet" in the Bible. These are traits that should not define a follower of Christ. Christians face all the same temptations that everyone else faces. The difference is we try to overcome behavior that the Bible labels as sinful. God loves us and wants what is best for us. If we trust him, we will obey his instructions.

In Galatians Chapter 5, we see the contrast between the flesh and the Spirit. We must choose to deny the desires of the flesh in order to be in step with the Spirit. God's grace gives us this ability to overcome our sinful nature and to become more like Jesus.

In Romans Chapter 1, the Apostle Paul describes people who are unwilling to follow God's will. He says, "They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips." Romans 1:29.

The Apostle Peter gives instructions to Christians, "So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander", 1 Peter 2:1.

Munger believes that avoiding envy is one of the "simple" secrets to living a long and happy life.