Martha Stout wrote: “What sociopaths envy, and may seek to destroy as part of the game, is usually something in the character structure of a person with conscience, and strong characters are often specifically targeted by sociopaths. Sociopaths want to play their game with other people. This simple but crucial observation implies that, in sociopathy, there remains some innate identification with other human beings, a tie with the species itself. However, this thin inborn connection, is one-dimensional and sterile, especially when contrasted with the vast array of complex and highly charged emotional responses most people have to one another and to their fellow human beings as a group.” Covetousness seems to be a form of envy. Is envy really the last “connection” the sociopath has to other beings? What is Creator’s perspective?

There is much truth in this perspective of covetousness being a kind of envy. That is certainly the inner motivation fanning the flames of the desire involved, and its motivation wanting to gain something similar, at least equivalent or greater. If one thinks about this in a logical fashion, what the rewards can be from something material, the more that is valued compared to the respect and love from others, the more it becomes clear that there are two value judgments, two systems of currency, if you will, that are being applied. The normal, healthy person will value their loved ones and true and trusted friends above financial considerations in how they might compare personally to having someone in their circle truly gaining something they themselves lack, such as financial security or a measure of recognition and status, because of personal achievements and accomplishments, and so on. But the sociopath, the person who is too self‑involved, being in the grip of covetousness, dazzled by perhaps something flashy, because it is a status symbol, on the one hand, are revealing a limitation in holding something of such narrow meaning and more limited value in the grand scheme of things as the be-all and end-all to acquire themselves. But the deeper meaning of this is their yearning for a connection, a true sense of belonging they lack because they are shut out by being different and they know this on some level, that something is missing, and that endless quest to even the score, level the playing field, or perhaps do so through the only thing available to them being an unfair tactic or advantage gained through power and control, for example, and not through a fair sharing and interchange and an earned place within the community or a circle of friends. That is why the perception of envy being so common is an accurate portrayal of the human dilemma for so many who are on the outside looking in and, when they circle among you, do so with a lower motive and goal in mind, often based simply on envy of something they feel is lacking. Experience shows all too often such individuals can be a danger and rarely rewarding to know because interacting with them will lead to disappointment and often a loss of some kind for the unwary.