Greed, IVF, and the Diabolical Sin
Saturday, February 27, 2021
I’m learning so much from the Fathers, especially Father J.’s homilies, which, on a scale of 1–10, typically hover around the 8–10 mark. In the last few weeks, he’s been talking about the seven deadly sins.
Today’s sins du jour are Greed and Envy. I’m amazed to hear Father relate in-vitro fertilization (IVF) to greed; I never thought of it that way, but it makes sense.
Here’s a statement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) about IVF:
In vitro fertilization brings about new life in a petri dish. Children engendered through IVF are sometimes known as "test tube babies." Several eggs are aspirated from the woman's ovary after she has taken a fertility drug which causes a number of eggs to mature at the same time. Semen is collected from the man, usually through masturbation. The egg and sperm are ultimately joined in a glass dish, where conception takes place and the new life is allowed to develop for several days. In the simplest case, embryos are then transferred to the mother's womb in the hope that one will survive to term. […]
Invariably several embryos are brought into existence; only those which show the greatest promise of growing to term are implanted in the womb. The others are simply discarded or used for experiments. This is a terrible offense against human life. While a little baby may ultimately be born because of this procedure, other lives are usually snuffed out in the process.
Greed is the insatiable desire for more, Father J. says, which comes from a disordered place in our soul that tells us no matter how much we have, it’s never enough. Greed blurs the distinction between want and need. Infertile couples often struggle with this, wanting children at any cost.
Even though IVF is morally wrong in the eyes of God, the mantra of the greedy is, “If we can do it, then why not do it?” It puts a greater value on possessions than on human dignity and virtue.
“How many of us say, ‘Oh, I’ve made enough money; now I’ll give the rest away’?” Father J. asks.
I certainly don’t know of any. Although back Sedona, my roommates and I had this principle that whenever we got too attached to any material object, we’d give it away. I did that with numerous items—from heirloom jewelry to favorite music albums—and some of them really hurt to let go of. But ultimately, the act of giving them away led to a greater sense of freedom.
Next up is the deadly sin of Envy, which, Father assures us, is not the same as jealousy. Jealousy says, “I want the same good things you have.” In contrast, envy says, “I don’t want you to have the good things you have.”
It’s when you tell your snarky friend you won the lottery, and she sneers, “Geez. Well, good for you.”
St. Augustine called envy the “diabolical sin” because it pits us against each other. Unlike jealousy, envy involves hatred for the other person and their good fortune. We see this a lot in our culture today.
Envy can even masquerade as kindness or fairness, says Father J. If everyone gets a participation trophy, awards and honor rolls don’t mean anything anymore. It’s like an infection that makes us sicker and sicker in our souls and leads to a heart turning away from God.
I completely agree with him. That’s why Marxism is the epitome of envy: It’s implied (or explicitly stated) that everyone who’s had any success in life must have stolen his or her money or cheated their way to the top.
It’s insane, and it’s evil because it leads to the equally diabolical trait of Schadenfreude, a German noun that means to take delight in someone else’s misfortune and that—tellingly and shamefully for us Germans—has no equivalent in the English language.