As Pride and its 'expectation of entitlement' approach, there are only two answers that can be made in its presence: yes or no. Others must either surrender to our Pride or be prepared for a fight.
Lust is only an option when others cooperate and submit themselves to manipulation. The fancy word for the is 'codependency,' when someone decides his happiness must be linked to the happiness of another. Now, when that other person decides to make his own decisions without needing to please the lustful person, the lustful person will be denied his 'needs.'
What sets in next is a network of another three passions: Envy, Greed, and Anger. These come about when we sense that our desires will not be satisfied by others. The inadequacies that Pride seeks to remedy are suddenly left naked. Our weakness is exposed. We are left at risk to our fears.
In casting about for answers, Lust has convinced us that other people have things that we need. They are, in some sense, better than us. After all, we are only 'perfect' when we have no needs and no desires, right? We sense that satisfaction when we take from others and 'consume' them. It is temporary perfection, but a perfection nonetheless.
So, we become acutely able to measure the good things other people have. We compare our fears to their strengths and their 'possessions'. Now, these 'possessions' can be attributes or parts of a person, which the sufferer of Pride sees as separable from the whole person. For example, when Pride leads to Lust of a sexual kind, the sufferer can look at a person and separate his body from his personhood. Bodies, faces, sexual organs and other integral parts of a person become 'detachable' with Lust and subject to use without care for the whole.
But, what happens when the 'owner' of these 'parts' says 'no?' This great refusal, which the Lustful person sees as not only inappropriate ("Don't you know who I am?") but downright threatening ("But, I need those!"). Lust then is revealed truly as a 'passion,' because its suffering comes to the surface and begins its torments.
This torment is Envy.
Envy is not jealousy. Jealousy is the strong value of something. We can 'jealously guard' what we already have, or be jealous of a person we like who has something we would like to have as well.
Envy is the hatred of the other person for having what we want but cannot have. Envy sees the other person's good as a harm to us. Pride tells us we deserve it, but we know that we cannot have it. Envy, as it poisons the soul, urges us to kill and destroy what is good so that we are not alone in our weakness. Envy wants to exalt its low estate by bringing all others under it in death. After all, the weak man is still stronger than the dead man.
While this sounds extreme (not all the envious commit murders), Envy commits a thousand small murders a day. It spins gossip about others to murder the reputation of someone else. It hates and tries to convert others to that hatred. It will lead us to harm the subject of our Envy when we have a chance by any means our cowardice will permit.
Envy is the coward's passion. It sulks and whines about 'injustices' and 'unfairness,' but ultimately never does anything about it except complain. When Envy starts a 'crusade,' it is to bring others down rather than build anything up. It has no hope in the face of 'no' other than the destruction of everything outside of it.
Envy goes so far as to murder God: consider these two Scriptural references:
So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over. (Mt 27:17-18)
Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. (Mk 15:9-10)
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,... (Ro 1:28-30)
...but through the devil's envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it. (Wi 2:24)
Envy is behind all violence, especially in relationships. We hate being weak, and Pride tells us that weakness is intolerable. Therefore, we will destroy even God if He reveals our weakness.
This is why there is no much 'anti-theism' in modern culture: belief in God means we are weak and left subject to His will. Most self-identified atheists are in fact 'anti-theists' because they are driven by hate. In some way, they do believe. After all, no one but small children believe in the 'Tooth Fairy,' yet I've never heard of the Tooth Fairy being spoken of with such anger as those who say they do not believe in God. Now, some will argue, "Yes, but humans do evil things in the name of God, so we have to fight religion!"
People also do evil things in the name of 'patriotism,' in the name of 'social order,' in the name of 'survival,' yet no one says that we should hate and do away with all of these. Humans will always find an excuse to hate so long as their is fear in their hearts. Statistically speaking, more than 100 million people died in the 20th century under atheistic regimes: atheism is no guarantee that humans will be better off. Actually, if you do the math, all of the religious wars combined don't add up to the casualties under the atheists.
That is because removing the belief in Divine judgment, which so many people fear, also means that there is no Divine mercy either. The world becomes a violent Darwinian nightmare where man is left to scramble against threats of extinction. This unleashes primal violence in men that ultimately surfaces as envy.
So, the Communists hate the Bourgeoisie, and Nazis hate the Jews, and both then write themselves permits to murder.
Now, we can see within ourselves the 'small murders' we commit against those we Envy if we are honest, though confessing Envy is probably more embarrassing that any of the many sins we inflict. We still have more on this topic to discuss.
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