Avoiding the Envy Trap as Bitcoiners

Posted on September 1st, 2023

by Mike Hatch

There has been a great deal of effort in recent years devoted to highlighting the myriad deleterious effects of fiat. Fiat is Latin for “let it be done,” and is related to a decree or edict rendered by someone in command or supreme leadership.

The dollar is often referred to as “fiat” because it has been decreed by the government to be money, even though it fails miserably to accomplish the task of money. In fact, you could call fiat an anti-money because it does exactly the opposite of money. Instead of functioning as a store of value, fiat currency pilfers its holders through its inevitable debasement and inflation of the supply by greedy governments and their cronies.

Throughout history fiat money has been incredibly damaging to a society, and continually leads to the downfall of nations. Saifedean Ammous took a deep dive into this concept in his book, The Fiat Standard: The Debt Slavery Alternative to Human Civilization.

We’re also waiting with bated breath for Jimmy Song’s newest book on this subject, Fiat Ruins Everything. According to Jimmy, it should be out in time for the Bitcoin Conference in 2024.

The word fiat itself has become an adjective to describe any social ill, socioeconomic injustice, dilution of quality, or compromise of moral values that stems from the fiat monetary system. There’s fiat food, fiat energy, fiat investing, fiat art, fiat wars, fiat spirituality, etc.

Just attach the word fiat to any other idea and the majority of Bitcoiners know exactly what you mean. I believe this is a good thing because it’s pulling back the curtain to reveal the matrix we’ve all been living in.

John Maynard Keynes, probably the most influential economist of the 20th century, famously said, “By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens.” The countless research about the effects of fiat is shining a light on this “secret and unobserved” evil that has led to so many social ills.

God calls us, as Christians, to expose evil. Ephesians 5:8-11 (NIV) says,

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

Praise God the “fruitless deeds of darkness” (i.e. fiat money and its ruinous effects) are being exposed as we discover the foundational truth that honest money pleases the Lord (Proverbs 11:1). However, as Christians, we must always remember that fixing the money will NOT fix the world because the root of all evil lies deep within our own, rebellious hearts,

“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” - Matthew 15:19-20

Defining Envy

As Christian Bitcoiners, it is critical for us to take an honest, fearless moral inventory of ourselves with regard to the sin of envy and identify where it rears its ugly head in our lives. We are no less susceptible to this sin than propagators of the fiat virus. If we’re not self-aware and repentant than we can easily end up in the same self-destructive place we started with fiat.

Let me start by defining envy which seems to be one of the most misunderstood sins among Christians. It’s often confused with jealousy and they can mistakenly be used interchangeably.

Jealousy is the fear of losing something you already have. For example, you might be jealous for your position at work because you feel threatened by a co-worker who could displace you. You might feel jealous about losing your spouse to someone who seems to take an interest in them.

God himself says to Israel,

Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. - Exodus 34:14

Envy, is wanting something someone else has. We envy other people for their stuff, and the things we don’t have - whether it is their car, their home, their wealth, their wife/husband, success, etc. Envy derives from a scarcity mentality that leads to “lust of the eyes” (1 John 2:16).

Envy tends to reveal itself in very insidious ways. Only recently, in the last year or so, has God revealed to me the ways envy has shown up in my life and it hasn’t been pleasant to behold.

Envy often shows itself while I’m on social media. I’ll find myself feeling envious of someone else’s victory, or seeing someone else celebrated in a way I wish I was being celebrated. I might see someone achieve something I wish I could have achieved and I’ll feel envious of that person.

If I am brutally honest, envy will take a darker turn. I’ve noticed that if I see someone I’ve been envious of experiencing hardship or struggle, I might feel satisfaction in their downfall. From my twisted, sinful perspective they have been brought back down to the level I think they deserve.

Do you see what happened there? I just put myself in God’s position. I just made myself the judge of someone else, and the one who feels justified to decide someone else’s destiny. Envy can very subtly lead one’s heart to very dark places.

Paul’s words in Romans 7 resonate with regard to my debased thought process,

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” - Romans 7:24

In summary, envy causes us to covet someone else’s possessions, position, or success. In some cases, lead us to wish harm on them, or delight in their downfall. No wonder the Bible is replete with warnings about the dangers of envy, and how envy has no place in the Christian life…

• Proverbs 14:30 - Envy rots the bones.
• Proverbs 23:17 - We’re not supposed to envy sinners.
• Proverbs 24:1 - We’re commanded not to be envious of the wicked.
• Ecclesiastes 4:4 - Much of the world’s achievements are motivated by envy.
• Mark 7:20-23 - Envy originates from a person’s heart.
• Mark 15:10 - Jesus was crucified as a result of the Chief Priest’s envy.
• 1 Corinthians 3:3 - When we envy we act like mere humans.
• 1 Corinthians 13:4 - Love does not envy.
• Galatians 5:19-21, 26 - The envious will not inherit the kingdom of God.
• 1 Peter 2:1 - We are called to rid ourselves of envy.
• James 3:16 - Envy is accompanied with selfish ambition and every evil practice.
• Titus 3:3 - Envy is a part of our old, sinful nature.

Envy’s Infection of Our Culture

When I played sports in high school, it was common for some teammates to despise others on the team for outworking them during practice. These envious teammates would convince the rest of the team not to run too fast in order to maintain a comfortable pace for them and everyone else.

If someone got out of line and decided they wanted to push themselves harder, this unfortunate soul would incur the wrath of the rest of the team because the majority didn’t want to be made to look bad. Of course, this would hurt the team’s overall performance on game day because we hadn’t prepared like our opponents.

Much like my teammates in high school, people do not want their neighbor to outshine them or make them look bad. Envy causes us to feel entitled to things we have not earned and enjoy the fruit without the proof of work.

Roger McKinney, in his book, God is a Capitalist: Markets from Moses to Marx, helps us understand the devastating effects of envy on a culture, especially from an economic perspective.

McKinney explains…

…envy is part of human nature and is so powerful that it determines how people organize societies. For most of human history, envy kept economic development and capitalism in irons as traditional cultures labored to achieve equality of wealth among the common people while avoiding wealth accumulation out of fear of the envy of others…the history of the world is little more than the history of how societies have dealt with envy.

According to McKinney, in some cultures, the person who tries to implement new, innovative ideas is certain to invite envious neighbors to do harm to them or their property. Some third world cultures will refuse the help of new technology because of this.

The civil authorities may even imprison such a person, or put them to death in order to ensure the socioeconomic status quo is maintained. This societal archetype prioritizes “equality of wealth among the common people” over the aggregate prosperity and advancement of the people.

Fiat is the handmaiden of envy because it allows governments to perpetuate this illusion of equality through money printing and taxation. In doing so, they confiscate, “secretly and unobserved,” the wealth of a nation, redistribute it in a way that appeases the envy of its citizens, while enriching themselves and their cronies.

Our politicians are masters at leveraging the envy of American citizens for their own gain by appealing to our victim mentality and sense of entitlement. This is where many government entitlement programs were derived to propagate a sense of equal outcome. These programs include:

• The New Deal in the 1930’s (Included the formation of the FDIC)
• Social Security
• National Labor Relations Act
• Revenue Act of 1942 (Increased taxes and the number of Americans subject to income tax.)

More recently we can point to ideas like MMT (Modern Monetary Theory) and universal basic income (UBI) as examples of this desire force an equal outcome amongst economic participants regardless of work applied. This is also antithetical to Proof of Work philosophy and intrinsic to the sin of envy: entitlement to something you did not earn or deserve.

The financial industry has fallen prey to envy through intense government regulation. As a result, we are relegated to primitive, rigid, and antiquated financial instruments like 401(k)s, pensions, and bonds.

Money managers and financial advisors are hemmed in and confined to a very narrow set of financial and investment instruments that have been decided via social contracts and vested interests. If you fall out of line or attempt to innovate, the SEC stands ready to slap you with severe penalties which could threaten your livelihood.

Of course, this is all done in the name of "consumer protection,” but in reality, it is envy that motivates these policies and regulations.

Meanwhile, thanks to fiat, the rules don’t apply to those in power who are closer to the money printer. Money is printed to bail out banks and big corporations because these entities are critical to ensuring the status quo and enforcing the rules imposed by envy. They are rewarded with extravagant wealth for the role they play.

Lest we forget, these are the kinds of abhorrent practices that earned Jesus’ wrath, causing him to overturn the tables of the money changers, and fashion a whip to drive them out of the temple (Matt. 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-19; Luke 19:45-48; John 2:13-16). This is not a small matter to God.

In summary, there is an inextricable link between envy and fiat that serves to enslave the citizenry and stifle innovation in order to appease envious citizens. Entitlement programs feed our greed and regulations keep everyone in line so as to achieve an illusion of “equality of wealth among the common people.”

Avoiding the Envy Trap as Christian Bitcoiners

If you’ve been in the Bitcoin world long enough, you’ll hear the phrase, “Everyone gets into Bitcoin at the price they deserve.”

On one hand, it’s true that it takes work to reach true Bitcoin adoption. On the other hand, there is the threat of arrogance and entitlement associated with early Bitcoin adoption that is unwarranted, especially for the Christian.

We must be reminded that just because God’s grace enables us to understand and embrace Bitcoin before the majority, it does not make us any better than those who persist in the fiat world. It is by God’s grace that our eyes have been opened.

Remember God’s warning to Israel before they took possession of the land of Canaan…

The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. - Deuteronomy 7:7,8

There was nothing special about Israel when God chose them. In fact, it was their weakness in the eyes of the world (“you were the fewest of all peoples”) that motivated God to choose them.

Isn’t this the way God operates? God chooses someone for the benefit of others, and those people he chooses are not typically the most educated, from the highest social status, or the most talented. They also have deep character flaws and often consciously or unconsciously attempt to sabotage God’s purposes.

Remember 1 Corinthians 1:27,

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

We must consider that it was God’s good pleasure to reveal to us this grace manifest in Bitcoin precisely because we are the weak and foolish. Just as we have no right to boast in our salvation (Ephesians 2:9), we have no right to brag or boast in the privilege of being early Bitcoin adopters. Instead, we should glory in being misunderstood, rejected, or dismissed.

Likewise, it will be tempting to despise the wicked and use the leverage of Bitcoin to punish those who’ve been proponents of fiat bondage. However, it is not for us to punish,

“It is mine to avenge, I will repay.” - Deuteronomy 32:35a (NIV)

If nothing else, we need to be reminded of our frailty and susceptibility to arrogance and pride. Otherwise, we may become the very thing we despise about the rulers of the fiat world.

Again, God chooses a people for the sake of others. With whom much is given much is expected (Luke 12:48). Therefore, God will expect us to be generous, and to be a refuge for the marginalized.

Secondly, we must be aware of the envy of others toward us as Bitcoiners. As the exchange rate of Bitcoin continues to climb we will be envied and despised by others, both Christians and non-Christians. They will accuse us of greed and blame us for the downfall of the fiat system they trusted in.

The road ahead will not be easy. It’s tempting to dream about riches and great gains in wealth through the early adoption of Bitcoin, but this will also bring great burdens and pains, similar to how the gospel often brings suffering and pain in this world.

In other words, we need to be prepared to suffer. Much like Jesus warned Ananias about the Apostle Paul,

I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. - Acts 9:16

Certainly, by God’s grace, there will be ways that our world becomes better because of this revolutionary technology. I believe it will be similar to the invention of the printing press. However, the printing press was also accompanied by many burnings at the stake of Christians who attempted to translate the Bible or make the word of God accessible to commoners. We will need to remember what Jesus said,

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. - John 15:18,19

As Bitcoiners we tend to be idealistic. We love envisioning a utopian future, however Jesus also said,

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. - Matthew 10:34-36

Anything that facilitates liberation and the spread of the gospel will be fiercely opposed by Satan. We must gird our loins.

In summary, to avoid the envy trap, we have to remember that we are not special or entitled. On the contrary, it is the fact that we are weak and frail that God has called us to this. We’ll need to stay humble and remember that we’ve been granted an extraordinary gift of grace that comes with responsibility, and likely suffering. Even in light of Bitcoin, our call has not changed: we must “take up our cross and follow Jesus” (Matthew 16:24).