The words of Wisdom 2:12 include “The wicked say: Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us. . .” In The Godfather, the second-rate Fredo rants to the brother he tried to murder, “I’m smart too, Mikey!”
Cain said the same thing to the brother he did succeed in killing. “I’m smart too, Abel.” The destructive vanity of “I’m smart, too!” has been the hallmark of the damned since Cain killed his better brother.
Similar jealousies appear later. Jacob loved Joseph most. His brothers were so consumed with jealousy, “We are just as worthy of our fathers’ love!”, that they decided to kill him. Instead, they made a little money by selling him to slave-traders. Joseph ended up saving the rest of his family.
Jesus, as Absolute Perfection, was hated by the jealous far more than Cain and Joseph. He had to die for being so much better than every identifiable group. He, like Joseph, ended up saving His much larger family.
All those overwhelmed by jealousy hated Jesus. “We are good and holy, too!” proclaimed the Jewish establishment. “We are powerful and in charge!” said the Romans. “We must protect our ancestral position.” said the Herodians.
Others among the jealous and insecure were made to worry.
“He can make food appear! Who needs us?” jealous farmers and property owners were led to think. “He can cure withered hands, make the lame walk, the blind see, mutes speak, the deaf hear, and the dead come to life! Who needs you? jealous physicians were told. “With Him teaching people to pay taxes or be damned, there is no need my department!” thought many in government. “Telling people to worry about getting into heaven more than about defending earthly rights is bad for our business!” said lawyers. “Letting people eat His Body and drink His Blood, have life in them, and get into Heaven.” makes us worse than useless.” many professional Jews were led to conclude.
A horde of jealous Cains and Mikeys got together to kill The Perfect Jesus.
What do we learn from this?
God is sheer genius. He is perfection in everything. He has downloaded human programs in a way that all are unequal. Among men, there is no equality of physical or intellectual ability. All are given different gifts. All have an equal ability to believe, obey, love, and forgive.
God makes it clear who is “bad”. Those who envy the gifts of others more than they are grateful to God for their own are bad. The more jealous of others’ gifts, and the less grateful we are for our own, the worse we are.
Among runners, one is fastest. Among weight-lifters, one is stronger. Among mathematicians, some can figure out things that others can’t. Among inventors, some excel in sheer brilliance.
The jealous hate any thoughts of excellence. “We are all just as good.” insist powerful groups, like unions and socialists, based on organizing the fearful and the jealous.
“We are all just as good!” insist the envious. All who intone “We are all just as good.” are telling this truth about ourselves: “I’m smart too, Mikey!”
A consideration of our own vanity: “Oklahoma!” was a powerful, popular play and movie in the 1950s. In it, the hero killed the jealous Jud, just as Mikey killed the murderously envious Fredo in The Godfather. Do stories with victorious heroes and defeated villains reflect the sacrificial nature of Christ and The Only Church He Founded?
Or, are we who prefer fictional victories over evil to the sacrifice of the Prophets, Christ, His Disciples, and every martyred Christian saying to God “I’m smart too, Mikey.”?
