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THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
We recognize the word, “covet” from the ten commandments:
17 Thou shalt not covet
thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy
neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox,
nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
Exodus 20:17
That’s one of those big, unusual words. We find it through scripture,
but, since it’s alien sounding, we don’t associate it with ourselves.
When was the last time you coveted your neighbor’s ox? We think of it
as referring to a heart that ends in stealing from our neighbor. Of
course, it’s applicable to outright thieves, but the sin goes further.
The sin of coveting, hits our very life-spring.
MAMMON
Jesus referred to this sin:
13 No servant can serve
two masters: for either he will hate the one,
and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the
other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Luke 16:13
Mammon is “treasure” and “riches”. It’s wealth
personified. Jesus was
saying, we either cleave to God or to the riches of the world. We covet
the world or we covet God. We find references encouraging coveting
things of God (1 Corinthians 12:31; 14:39).
WIDESPREAD PROBLEM
Near the end of this tract, you’ll find a monologue of a personified
“Covetousness”. I hope he’ll make you aware how widespread the problem
is. Some of the issues “Covetousness” brings up, aren’t of themselves
bad. For example, looking at catalogs isn’t bad, but a state of heart
it develops in many is. Covetousness is insidious. It grabs hold in
subtle ways. We never realize how we’ve become enslaved, and enslaved
is exactly the term. “Things” begin to rule our lives, yet we’re so
confident we’re above that.
ENVY
In recognizing covetousness, we’ll see envy in the scheme of things:
5 Do ye think that the
scripture saith in vain, The spirit that
dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
James 4:5
To covet is to lust after something. The fallen man naturally lusts.
It’s always wanting, is never satisfied. Envy is coveting something
someone else has, but goes a step further. Envy tends to not only wish
for something someone else has, it also wishes they didn’t have it. In
the monologue you find it expressed, “Why should he be so lucky and
have it. I could think of better ways to use it.”
30 A sound heart is the
life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of
the bones.
Proverbs 14:30
Envy in us works like rot. It’s not merely unsavory, it destroys us. A
heart cleared of covetousness will be to our true enrichment.
(Philippians 4:11*)
CONSCIOUSLY TAKE ACTION
If we don’t consciously pursue the kingdom of God, we’ll unconsciously
pursue mammon.
1 If ye then be risen
with Christ, seek those things which are above,
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on
things above, not on things on the earth.
Colossians
3:1,2
Paul tells us to seek heavenly things. “Us” being
born-again believers.
If you’re not born-again, the old root of loving mammon is still
present. If you are rooted in the system of mammon, you’ll not be able
to free yourselves to ascend to heaven.
Paul went on, speaking of affections. This defines the crime
covetousness settles in. Where are your affections?
* Is all your dreaming about sports: football games,
snowmobiles, four-wheeling, fishing?
* Is all your dreaming about people: spouse, sons,
daughters, social acceptance, impressions you leave (Luke 14:26)?
* Is all your dreaming about power: career, respect,
titles, accomplishments?
These areas can be viewed to see how they measure up to this world (1
John 2:15-17*).
36 Incline my heart unto
thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
Psalm 119:36
In Psalms we find this enlightening prayer. We don’t
overcome
covetousness in our power. We find the strength and direction in God’s
Word. That’s one reason we must see our heart diligently longs for
hearing the ways and things of the Lord. That’s the “thy testimonies”
the psalmist prayed for. Unless our hearts abide there, covetousness
will prevail. To neglect the one is to guarantee the other.
5 Mortify therefore your
members which are upon the earth; fornication,
uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and
covetousness, which is idolatry:
Colossians 3:5
From Colossians, we see a couple important aspects
regarding
covetousness. We’re told to personally take action against it. Notice
the term mortify is used. This is an expression denoting death. As a
Christian dies to sins in Christ, he’s to also place these fleshly
lusts in the death of Christ. Abiding in Him, there’s overcoming life.
The other important aspect is its link with idolatry.
COVETOUSNESS IS IDOLATRY
Idolatry isn’t only bowing to statues. There’s a state of heart that’s
idolatrous. That state bows to statues because it elevates something,
other than God, to top position. This is idolatry. That’s why a person
can be a “supposed” Christian and really be an idolater. The Christian
who’s in name only, has something more important in his life than God.
That person may not bow to a statue, but idolatry isn’t only to pagan
superstitions. It can be to money, power, pleasures, etc.
14 Wherefore, my dearly
beloved, flee from idolatry.
1 Corinthians 10:14
Whenever we’re told to flee, an alarm should sound
in our hearts. We’re
told to flee because the sin listed is too enslaving. Resist is one
thing, flee is another. Flee means, don’t have confidence this sin
could never engulf you. Fleeing demands we see the danger. If we were
in the jungle and a spitting cobra lay on the trail in front of us, we
wouldn’t resist it. We would, hopefully, note its presence and totally
avoid contact with it. Leeriness has to be there, or we’ve already
begun our fall.
3 But fornication, and
all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be
once named among you, as becometh saints; 4 Neither filthiness, nor
foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather
giving of thanks. 5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean
person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in
the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Ephesians 5:3-5
Again, we are told covetousness is one and the same
as idolatry. To
lust after this world, is to worship it. To lust after the things of
this world, is to worship them. Covetousness, even though it’s
unfortunately common amongst Christians, is classified as a sin that
should never, ever been seen among them!
Christians may slip into a bad temper and sin thus. This is sin and
shouldn’t be committed, but it’s not listed here. It does sometimes
happen. We can see the difference to that kind of sin versus
fornication, which is listed here. We easily understand Paul’s
statement that such a slip as fornication should never occur even once
among Christians. Covetousness is classified right along with such a
sin.
For a major conclusion on this passage, we notice the exclusion from
Heaven of the covetous. It’s not the only passage stating this fact:
COVETOUS EXCLUDED FROM
HEAVEN
10 Nor thieves, nor
covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor
extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1
Corinthians 6:10
The weight of consequence this sin brings, should
cause us to tremble.
Remember, it’s a life principal. Either our heart loves this world, or
it loves God. It can’t love both simultaneously. If we love this world,
we strive for it and dream of it. If we love God, we seek to be like
Him and dream of Him. The world doesn’t really mind your thinking of
God a little. As long as you still have some of it in your heart, it
won’t be too disturbed. After all, part of the nature of this world is
faithlessness. The same doesn’t go for God, however, as we saw in the
verse on mammon. If we love God, we’ll obey Him (1 John 2:3-5*). This
means totally cutting the love of the world from our hearts.
THE LIFE-PRINCIPAL
15 And he said
unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a
man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he
possesseth.
Luke 12:15
Beware! This is that leeriness that causes us to
flee. Remember that
spitting cobra. Here we see the life-principal I referred to.
Intellectually and philosophically, many realize man’s life isn’t found
in material things. The practice is a whole other ball park. In that,
they’re the opposite of such a declaration. I see people talk about the
importance of family, yet they keep adding toys and building castles of
a sort. They talk about all the fun they have boating and playing in
diverse ways. Their cars are always new, and they’re always getting the
latest technological gadgets to play with. Their real love becomes
abundantly evident. As I said earlier, even family can be mammon, but
increasingly this particular mammon is taking a backseat to material
goods. The more physical comforts and material affluence this society
displays, the more material goods will enslave the hearts of people.
Hey, it’s made real easy, we don’t even have to pay cash anymore. We
don’t even have to pay now anymore. Credit cards really helped in that
department.
PERVERTING JUSTICE
The life-principal governs our conduct. If we don’t hate covetousness,
when temptation faces us, we’ll be corrupted and pervert justice:
21 Moreover thou shalt
provide out of all the people able men, such as
fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them,
to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties,
and rulers of tens:
Exodus 18:21
Moses outlined leaders were specifically to be
chosen who hated
covetousness. Not only avoiding it, but actively despising it. Why was
this so important? If a person is covetous, he’ll corrupt judgment for
worldly gain, he’ll cheat the poor.
Look at the three characteristics of a good leader. First, he feared
God. He knows he is responsible to a righteous judge who will punish
him if he corrupts justice. Second, he’s one who looks for the truth.
No matter what the cost, the truth must be revealed and dealt with
accordingly. Truth in the light of God’s justice leaves no corruption.
Finally, covetousness is the remaining weak link. A leader who loves
gain with little fear of long-term consequences, is absolutely
worthless. This shows the gravity of covetousness. The whole of society
rises or falls with this sin alone. You can see part of the reason this
is such a serious crime.
EXHORTATIONS TO CONTENTMENT
Contentment is the crux of the matter in how we abide in this world.
What’s amazing, for the covetous, even though they strive to increase
in goods, they’re never content.
* Andrew Carnegie, the multimillionaire said,
“Millionaires who laugh are rare. My experience is that wealth is apt
to take the smiles away.”
* Henry Ford, the automobile king, said, “Work
is
the only pleasure. It is only work that keeps me alive and makes life
worth living. I was happier when doing a mechanic’s job.”
* John B. Rockefeller said, “I have made many
millions, but they have brought me no happiness. I would barter them
all for the days I sat on an office stool in Cleveland and counted
myself rich on three dollars a week.” Broken in health, he employed an
armed guard.
Look at the biblical exhortation:
6 But godliness with
contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought
nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8
And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But they
that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many
foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and
perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which
while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows. 11 But thou, O man of God, flee
these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love,
patience, meekness.
1 Timothy 6:6-11
Seek godliness, concern yourself with this first. Contentment is of
great value. If you’re content with little, covetousness can hold no
ground in you. Anything that causes us to be discontent with our
possessions, craving more, is deadly. Contentment vanishes and
covetousness begins. (Lottery commercials aim directly at this.) This
passage, in Timothy, points out how transitory worldly things are.
It encourages us to be satisfied with basic necessities. Anything above
this is extra. You can get more by striving. You can even increase
through thievery, in many instances, but God isn’t mocked. He will
repay. We find that famous statement here, “the love of money is the
root of
all evil”. Some new versions change it to say something totally
different, “the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil”. The
“sorts of” is added. It isn’t found in the Greek. Seeing how
far-reaching covetousness is, we begin to understand that loving the
things of this world lies at the base of all evils. Eventually, it can
all be translated back to money. Notice the call again to “flee” this
area of temptation, and the
direction to flee in. It all lies in setting your affections on things
above. We may be in this world, but our affections need to be in heaven.
I’d like to close this study with this exhortation in Hebrews:
5 Let your conversation
be without covetousness; and be content with
such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee.
Hebrews 13:5
Always talking about things you plan on getting
isn’t good. There’s
need to talk about goals, that require material accomplishments, but
constantly thinking about them is dangerous. It tends to create
discontentment.
Hebrews finishes it up with a reminder, God takes care of us. We don’t
have to fear we’re on our own. Set our hearts on Him, and the things of
this world will follow according to His wisdom. If we allow Him to do
as He sees fit, we don’t have to fear covetousness taking over. Love
and pursue Him with your whole heart and all else will fall into place
(Matthew 6:33).
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An Introduction
Hello! You may feel you don’t know me,
but we’re more familiar than you would ever dream. Most churched people
imagine it’s the unchurched who know me well. With you church folk, I
alter my form slightly, but you know me well too. I pass myself off as
so-called “Necessities”. Oh, I love that one! It excuses all sorts of
excesses. What type? “I must have the best, or new, I just couldn’t
live without that kind of reliability.” Some I justify it with, “You
never know when you may need it,” and, oh joy, the pile grows! It’s
amazing, you barely let go, adding to your pile, and you’ve already
forgotten about it. You start gazing at another good deal! Well, if
it’s a good deal, then all the better excuse to indulge! No restraints,
then I can be passed off as “Prudence”. I love that one. You know what
one of my favorite breeding grounds is? Catalogs! Actually, magazines,
TV commercials and new movies help lots, too. Just peruse those sports
catalogs, then your wish juices start flowing! With some people, it
takes some kind of hobby catalog. The magazines culture a taste for my
company. You read all about the newest, the improved, the superior
performance or new styles. Before long, I’m going with you for the
loan! Banks love me. TV commercials help with large ticket items like
cars, and the movies really entrench you with toys and T-shirts. Don’t
you remember the good times we had cruising the malls and window
shopping? All the fun daydreaming in those furniture shops? What about
in your engagement period, when you went around choosing the china and
silverware? Oh, that was such fun, drooling, dreaming and savoring! You
should hear the justifications you excuse me with: “There’s nothing
wrong with being rich, Abraham was!” or “If I don’t dream about it,
I’ll never work for it, so I’ll never get it.” and “I’m not aiming to
be rich, just comfortable, there’s nothing wrong with that!” You’ll
love this one, “They have more than they need. Why should they have it
all?” With that I can often get you folks to join with my brother,
“Theft”. That’s when you add the justification, “They weren’t even
using it.” Some people think my name rather crass, so I flatter them by
using the names of “Prudence,” “Shrewd,” “Discerning,” or get this one,
“Refined” - oolala! In some countries, I go by my middle name,
“Idolatry”. I’m real popular by that one. In America, you think you
don’t know me, just of me. Well, that’s because I almost always go
about by my first name here. First name or middle, it really doesn’t
matter, I’m still me. Oh, you think you recognize me? Actually, we’ve
been quite good friends. We’ve spent quite a lot of time together. I’m
sure you remember the hours you’ve spent with my other brother and
myself. Remember my brother, “Envy”? The favorite refrain I love to
hear hearts sing, “I want, I want, I want” and “Gimme, gimme, gimme!”
If you haven’t already guessed my name, allow me to introduce myself.
My name is “Covetousness”.
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 Free to Copy under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND3.0 License by Darrell Farkas
All quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible
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