Upfront May 14, 2012 Issue

No room for envy

Kim Shippey, Senior Staff Editor

It’s possible to learn helpful lessons from several Bible stories about people who were consumed with envy. Think of Joseph, who was cast into a desolate pit by his envious brothers (see Genesis 37). Or Jacob’s envy of his brother Esau’s birthright and the price Jacob paid for his deception (see Genesis 27).

But my favorite is the story, not of the prodigal son himself, but of his elder brother, who spent his life playing by the rules but wasn’t rewarded with a celebration party. His dilemma was that he hadn’t a clue as to how to get into a father’s arms stretched out to welcome his prodigal brother (see Luke 15).

This is the parable Robin Hoagland builds upon in her lead article (p. 4), along with her insights into the Ten Commandments, which she describes as “a beautiful summary of our innate completeness.”

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