In contemplating the post about malicious envy, and the desire of humans to punish those who are doing well, I thought at first how puzzling this was to me, because there have been very few people in my life I have wished would suffer punishment. One who I did wish punishment on I ended up rescuing - twice - when others were punishing her in front of me, mostly with justification. Another time I let it happen, but these two seemed overdone, and I thought I would step in...
I am grateful for vices I am not tempted to, as CS Lewis noted about gambling and homosexuality. I don't do that well with the temptations that do cross my path, and sometimes think that such free passes are one of the meaning of "deliver us from evil." So I was feeling quite pleased with myself, yes sir, that at least I was free of malicious envy...
And the thought came to me, perhaps God's, "Well, what about people needing to be taken down a peg? Got any of those?" A few came to mind instantly, and I suspect their name is legion. Some whole categories of person are beginning to form, and defining those will of course define something about myself. So I have some excavations to do.
One of the advantages of working in emergencies and under pressure is that the people who irritate you show up in high relief. (Not only including coworkers, but especially coworkers.) While I was bringing up my boys, I found that when young men who whined were admitted, I did not do well with them and would have to bring myself in check over and over dealing with them so that I did not lose my temper, however quietly and subtly. I don't they are so much of a category for me anymore.
So that is where the fox is hiding at the moment: people who I think need to be taken down a peg. This is a place where the calculus might show that the area under the curve is actually larger than it would be under a couple of spikes.
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The kings go up and the kings go down,
And who knows who shall rule;
Next night a king may starve or sleep,
But men and birds and beasts shall weep
At the burial of a fool.
O, drunkards in my cellar,
Boys in my apple tree,
The world grows stern and strange and new,
And wise men shall govern you,
And you shall weep for me.
-The Ballad of the White Horse
Kind of the opposite of "Exploratory therapy, which used to be the norm, is potentially catastrophic."
But the motives differ.
Just an aside, but I think that the "evil" in "deliver us from evil" was meant to refer to evil things that are done to us , rather than to moral failings on our part. The line is directly related to the previous one, "don't let us be put to the test".
Completely true. Put another way: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/its-defund-global-police-moment-jen-says-de-dollarization-happening-stunning-pace
The gloating may have been overdone. ;)
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