Analysis – Avarice & Anger

Avarice

Avarice, more commonly known as greed, might be the most widespread vice, at least in America. Almost every form of media, from television, to music, to movies, praises wealth and living a lavish lifestyle. Commercials that last longer than television shows constantly inform viewers of the newest ‘thing’ that they need to buy.

Given the time of year, avarice is particularly prominent. Christmas commercials started playing the day after Halloween and Black Friday sales now start during the middle of Thanksgiving dinner. That’s not to say that buying or receiving gifts or getting the latest gadget is inherently wrong, but it says something about a person when they are willing to forgo Thanksgiving dinner with their family to spend the day shopping at Wal-Mart, waiting outside BestBuy until midnight and spending the rest of the weekend preparing for Cyber Monday. At some point, it seems like possessions become more important than people.

This vice directly relates to our class discussions on consumerism. As seen in the “Stuff” video, society is persuaded to buy things through advertisements, trends, peer pressure and the desire to acquire more possessions. These things are easy to see in real life. For instance, my laptop is two and a half years old. It runs perfectly, looks great and does everything I want; I can do my homework, listen to music, browse the internet, play games on fairly high settings, run graphic design programs without waiting for hours of loading and perform all manner of tasks that a lot of laptops would struggle to complete. I’m perfectly content with my laptop, but for some reason, I still catch myself looking at new ones. I don’t need one, but seeing advertisements makes me wonder what it would be like to have a laptop that is just a little bit lighter or slightly faster than my current one.

Avarice is a difficult vice to master. Personally, I did not think I struggled with avarice until writing this. As I started writing, I remembered my extensive collection of video games and gaming consoles. With the exceptions of the PS1, original Xbox and the three newest consoles, I own every gaming console since the NES. As for games, there are probably hundreds tucked away at my house. It is likely that a vast majority of these old games will never be played again, but at this point, what do I do with them? For one reason or another, I cannot bring myself to get rid of them. I have them all for nothing other than the sake of owning them; there are games on the shelf that I haven’t even opened. DeYoung says that recognizing the issue is a good first step toward overcoming avarice, and the more I think about it, maybe I have gone a bit further than just recognizing it. I have not bought, or been given, a new game in a long time – I’ve been too busy with school and other pursuits – but maybe not getting a new game is okay. I recognize that I do not need more. However, I’m still in a strange in-between situation with avarice; I haven’t had the urge to buy anything new, but I also can’t get rid of what I already own.

Is that avarice? If so, does that mean I have to get rid of all those possessions to completely overcome avarice? Would getting rid of all those possessions be going too far?

Anger

According to DeYoung, anger only becomes a vice when directed at the wrong person or when taken to an extreme. That seems fair, especially when she cites MLK and Jesus as people that expressed anger in an appropriate manner. Is it better to use anger in moderation or eliminate anger altogether? DeYoung does not offer an answer, instead choosing to note that both sides have appealing qualities (119).

(Disclaimer: Because of the nature of the events that occurred, I will not be touching on the role of race in the following example. The roles of race are very complex, and instead of attempting to give what would be a poor understanding of such complexity, I will just focus on the topic of anger).

The events in Ferguson, Missouri seem to be filled with anger. Riots don’t usually begin when people are happy and enjoying life. In this case, there are a lot of reasons people are angry. It could be the decision from the grand jury, a lack of transparency, racial issues, the militarization of police forces or the way the media has made the event a complete circus. All of these contributing factors – among others – have created citizens that are angry enough to riot. Are people rioting for the correct reasons and using their anger appropriately? Regardless of one’s opinion on the court case or the decision of the grand jury, it is clear that the rioting is neither anger-free or channeling the anger appropriately.

Since it is clear that the situation is not anger-free, it is more important to look at the other beneficial option: channeling the anger in a way that produces good. People are destroying property, looting and committing arson, all against people that have nothing to do with the case. Storeowners, property-owners and other citizens are suffering and having their livelihoods put at risk because of the rioting. The rioters have taken anger to an extreme and are directing their anger poorly. What would it look like to use anger appropriately in this situation? Rioting could be an effective means of achieving an end, but it would need to be free of looting and violence and should have a clear purpose. For instance, people could be advocating for mandatory cameras on on-duty police officers. Cameras could help prevent situations like these from happening in the future and provide essential evidence. Anger at the verdict could be utilized for progress. However, instead of doing anything beneficial, people are using this opportunity to steal and light buildings on fire. That is, objectively, an improper use of anger that will only make the situation worse by causing more problems for the city and the people that live in it.

Analysis – Vainglory & Sloth

Vainglory

DeYoung opens the chapter on Vainglory by recounting an instance in her church; high school students were asked to name celebrities and people they viewed as heroes. The students could easily rattle off an extensive list of celebrities but could not identify people they viewed as heroes. DeYoung uses this occurrence to claim that vainglory – the excessive desire for recognition and fame – has become commonplace in society. While I do not disagree that vainglory is prevalent in today’s world, I am not sure that her story is enough evidence. For instance, I could list over 100 bands or musical artists without thinking. I could also name most presidents of the United States in order. Does that mean the musicians or the presidents are vainglorious or excessively desire public attention? No, it means that, in some form or fashion, they have done something worth remembering, whether that be a good song or an important executive order.

Further, I am not sure how many adults – let alone high school students – could immediately form a list of their heroes. There could be a number of reasons for this, but personally, the reason I would not be able to create a list of heroes would be that I admire particular qualities, not the person that has the quality. For instance, I admire the wit of Groucho Marx but not his personal life. I might admire the patience of a family friend, but detest his drinking problem. I can name qualities that I admire and people that have those qualities, but I can fail to admire that person due to other qualities that they possess. At this moment, there is no singular person I can point at and say “that’s my hero!” because that person could have faults. Many people viewed Robin Williams as a hero, but how do they justify his drug and alcohol abuse? Putting him on a pedestal puts all of his qualities on the pedestal too; why would I admire drug abuse and alcoholism? Why would the inability to name a hero mean that I have been seduced by vainglory? DeYoung’s example fails to consider the various reasons that people could have difficulty selecting a hero.

Sloth

The biggest problem with Sloth is that it is the opposite of Diligence: the ability to have responsibility, work hard and complete duties. Laziness itself is not the issue – it would be hard to find evidence that sleeping until noon ever caused anyone to go to Hell – but laziness to the point of neglect is an issue. Sloth can cause a person to be indifferent to others or even actively pursue their own selfish desires at the expense of allowing suffering to occur in other people.

This vice is particularly interesting because it is one of the few that is viewed as a problem in both secular and religious circles. From a religious standpoint, it can prevent people from caring and loving about other people while also having a negative impact on their relationship with God. The lack of love and care stems from the slothful person’s apathy toward others and the person’s relationship with God will suffer because the person no longer takes the time to connect with God. It can also show up when mission trips or outreach projects are mentioned in church. Most people would agree that these pursuits are beneficial to others and serve as a way to express God’s love to others, but when asked to help or volunteer, many people will make excuses and not help, choosing instead to focus on their own selfish desires.

Sloth is viewed just as poorly outside of religion, most notably in school and in the workplace. Slothfulness is a complicated issue in school and can be difficult to understand. Some things, such as sleeping in, skipping class, forgetting assignments and not studying, are easily identifiable but what about other actions? For instance, choosing a school known for grade inflation or picking a professor known to give out “Easy A’s?” Are these actions manifestations of sloth? What about choosing a major based on the workload? For instance; at Baylor, business is generally considered an easy major. This is not a critique of business degrees or an agreement with the sentiment, just an examination. If it is true that business is an easy degree, is it lazy to choose it as a major? If a business degree truly offered an easier, more lenient path through college, then the argument could be made that it is a lazy choice. However, that argument could fall apart when considering the opportunities that open up with a business degree.

Business students are known for obtaining jobs – and sometimes very good jobs – after college. Having a job and doing the job successfully seems like diligence, the opposite of sloth, but what if that job fosters selfishness and does not help others? Selfishness could form in any job – not just ones related specifically to business – and can be considered part of sloth in that the selfishness prevents a person from assisting and loving other people. Using a job, and its salary, for selfish desires is one way that sloth can manifest in the workplace, but it can also manifest in other ways, particularly in the secular sense of laziness. Regardless of what the DMV seems to think, having slothful employees does not benefit anyone. A slothful employee can miss deadlines, not show up to work and generally be a detriment to any work environment. What manager or CEO wants to pay an employee to be lazy?

Analysis – Intro+Envy

Rebecca DeYoung’s book “Glittering Vices” serves as a good compliment to the course material of Biblical Heritage because many of the topics discussed in class are rooted in the vices that DeYoung analyzes throughout her book. In her first two chapters, DeYoung discusses the history of the seven capital vices before breaking down the vice of Envy.

The list of the seven capital vices varied from person to person over the course of many centuries, but each iteration remained similar to the previous. Each list is particularly interesting, especially when considering the lifestyle and location(s) of the author. For instance, Evagrius, the monk that created the first list, lived in the desert. How would that impact what was viewed as a capital vice? Wouldn’t actions that detracted from survival be viewed as the worst actions to commit? Actions and thoughts like laziness, greed, lust and anger could easily lead to the death of a monk living in the desert. Scavenging enough supplies to live would be hard enough without the additional stumbling blocks that the vices present. Evagrius’ lifestyle had a direct impact on what should be considered a “capital vice.” John Cassian’s list was the same list, but he ordered the vices from carnal to spiritual in order to show the severity of each in context of a communal monastic lifestyle, which differed from the solitary lifestyle of desert monks.

A bit further in the chapter, DeYoung wonders if the seven deadly vices have become meaningless in today’s society. She notes a few ways the vices are trivialized; TV shows desensitize viewers to vices like envy, lust and anger, while clothing companies market their clothing with the vice of sloth, claiming that consumers should just buy a new shirt instead of taking the time to do laundry (DeYoung 32-33). This portion of the chapter should connect with readers and cause them to wonder if they have also become desensitized to different vices. For instance, consider television shows like Breaking Bad and House of Cards. Each show features characters that regularly lie, commit felonies, lust after other characters and murder people. These actions occur so frequently that the viewer rarely even cringes; the actions have become the norm and are expected to occur. After watching these events happen so frequently on TV, it can become difficult to notice the same actions occurring in real life. That is not to say that watching such shows will cause viewers to commit the same actions, but it is important for viewers to reflect on themselves and prevent desensitization to actions that occur in real life.

Envy

Perhaps the most important aspect of Envy, at least according to DeYoung, is how it differs from similar words, like jealousy or covetousness. The person that is jealous of what another person has wants a similar product to that person. For instance, the jealous person might buy the same make and model of car as the person they are jealous of. The covetous person takes joy in acquiring an object that another person possesses. However, the envious person is different; the envious person takes delight in acquiring an object owned by another person but equally delights in knowing that the other person no longer has the object. This, according to DeYoung, is the essential difference between envy and concepts like jealousy and covetousness.

I struggle with Envy. I don’t particularly care that other people have more possessions than I do, or that they have more money, or anything along those lines. I might be resentful when such things are flaunted, but never particularly envious. The only time that I am envious of other people is in the gym. At the time of this writing, I’ve been going to the gym religiously for 26 weeks and 4 days. In that time, I’ve missed exactly 7 workouts, for various reasons ranging from lack of access to a gym to illness. I have tracked every single moment of this time and I know exactly how much progress I have made. However, every day that I’m in the gym, I’m looking around and comparing myself to others. I deeply envy the progress that I see other people making and the weights they can lift. Somewhere inside, I know that I am also making progress, but that does not stop me from envying other people. I yearn to lift more than every other person in the facility, on every lift I can imagine. I am never content, but I am always envious. It is an immense struggle to deal with; I know that I should not compare myself to others, but I can rarely stop myself. Sometimes it seems like every fiber of my self-worth rests on lifting more weight than the person next to me. How do I overcome something like this? As far as I can tell, it seems like the only solution is to be happy for other people and encourage them to continue making progress. Their progress does not hinder mine, so why do I take it so personally when I see someone stronger than I am? I do not know, but I understand that the solution to my feelings of envy will come when I stop seeing the gym as a competition and can truly be happy with myself and encourage those around me.