What
is covetousness?
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1.covetousness - an envious eagerness to possess something
enviousness, envy - a feeling of grudging admiration and desire to have something that
is possessed by another
2.covetousness - reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable
desire for wealth (personified as one of the deadly sins)
deadly sin, mortal sin - an unpardonable sin entailing a total loss of
grace; "theologians list seven mortal sins"
Covetousness in other words is
a strong desire to have what other people have and especially with worldly
possessions.
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a strong
desire after the possession of worldly things It assumes sometimes the more aggravated form of avarice, which is the mark of cold-hearted worldliness.
cov·et·ous (kŭv′ĭ-təs) adj. Feeling, expressing, or characterized by a strong
or immoderate desire for the possessions of another: "At least three
European ...
The sin of covetousness is forbidden in the
10th commandment and Exodus 20:17 says; 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. The dictionary meaning for covetousness definitely points
to taking something which does not belong to you, or desiring to have it in the
wrong way. Covetousness in other words is a
strong desire to have what other people have and especially with worldly
possessions. Covetousness is an evil desire and it is sin, and if not rooted
out it gives birth to many ugly generations. It is the sin of the heart and its
hidden evil desires.
Rom 7:7 says, 7 What shall we say then?
Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had
not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
According to Apostle Paul, it is lust and an unlawful desire and the law has
said that Ye shall not covet. If we look at the lust and the desire to have
something not lawful it obviously points that covetousness is a mark of
cold-hearted worldliness. Covetousness is the root of all evil, because if we
are not satisfied with what we have, we want to have something the other person
has. Once the desire sets in a person’s mind, because of the heart and mind
connection it gets easily transferred to the heart and the heart energises the
person to perform it. Word of God repeatedly warns us that our heart is
deceitful, and several warnings are given to guard our hearts because out of it
comes the issues of life. 23 Keep
thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life; Prov:
4:23.
How
does it make one feel when someone else takes your belonging? Let us stop and think! What would we do to
that person?
Scriptural References:
Deut 5:19: “You
shall not steal”
Deut
5:21; 21 Neither
shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy
neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or
his ass, or anything that is thy neighbour's.
The above Words the Lord spoke from the
mountain in the midst of fire, the cloud and the thick darkness with a loud
voice. The things in this earth even though they are material possession, it
was given to one by God, and very often it comes through labour, tears, pain
and sometimes through severe persecution.
Notable
violations in Scriptures from the Old Testament stories:
In this story of the Old Testament we see
King Ahab coveting his neighbour Naboth’s vineyard and the consequences of
coveting neighbour’s possession. Mischief is added more to the real life drama
when King Ahab’s wife Jezebel entered in the scene. The story ended
dramatically when God took notice of the situation and send prophet Elijah to
humble Ahab. Let us read the story of Ahab in 1 Kings: 21:1-19.
1And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth
the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab
king of Samaria. 2 And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me
thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto
my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem
good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. 3 And
Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord
forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. 4 And
Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth
the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the
inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away
his face, and would eat no bread. 5 But Jezebel his wife came
to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?
6 And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the
Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it
please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will
not give thee my vineyard. 7 And Jezebel his wife said unto
him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let
thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed
them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that
were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. 9 And she wrote in the
letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: 10 And
set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying,
Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him,
that he may die. 11 And the men of his city, even the elders
and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent
unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. 12 They
proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. 13 And
there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of
Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the
people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him
forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. 14 Then
they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead. 15 And
it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that
Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the
Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive,
but dead. 16 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth
was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the
Jezreelite, to take possession of it. 17 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite,
saying,
18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which
is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down
to possess it. 19 And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus
saith the Lord, Hast thou killed,
and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith
the Lord, In the place where dogs
licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.
In this story we find that Achan was
detected for coveting and he was destroyed. When he committed the sin he tried
to hide it. We have to understand the
human nature and the folly of sin. Probably he thought that he can conceal his
sin without exposing to people around, but he fail to realize there is an
Omniscient God, who watches over the affairs of men and in His book it is all
recorded. The desire to have more worldly possessions can be a snare to anyone.
Let us read Joshua 7:19-26 and the story of Achan.
19 And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray
thee, glory to the Lord God of
Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide
it not from me. 20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed
I have sinned against the Lord God
of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: 21 When I saw among
the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and
a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them;
and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver
under it. 22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the
tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. 23 And
they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and
unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord. 24 And Joshua, and
all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the
garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen,
and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they
brought them unto the valley of Achor.
25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the Lord shall trouble thee this day. And
all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had
stoned them with stones. 26 And they raised over him a great
heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord
turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was
called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.
People
can argue and say that this is an Old Testament story. We have to remember that
the Old is revealed in the new and the new is concealed in the old. In the New
Testament we have a New covenant with Jesus Christ when He died for us on the
Cross. When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of our life we are not
on our own because we are bought with the most precious blood of Jesus Christ
which was shed on Calvary. 9 Whosoever is born of God
doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because
he is born of God. Covetousness
brings leanness to our soul because man can see only what he wants and he seem
to feed on this act of covetousness. This is feeding on their self and as a result their eyes are
blinded and their ears are deaf to hear and understand God’s Word.
As he blindly pursues his own depraved desires, he says in his soul: I
must have my way: I’ll have that woman or that man if I have to break up their
marriage to get them. I’ll have that position if I have to kill someone to get
it. I’ll have my pleasure and my drink, my money, my home, my job, my good
times in life and my way, no matter what the consequences! This is the essence
of evil, my friend, and this is the heart of every man or woman outside of
Christ. - Spurgeon.
Obtained
from Mt. Zion Bible Church (www.mountzion.org). Reformatted by Eternal Life
Ministries
Moreover the tenth commandment embraces the
previous nine commandments because the breach of each commandment comes out of
the covetousness of human nature. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed
evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts,
covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy,
pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within,
and defile the man; Mk: 7:21-23. The heart of the whole matter on
covetousness is heart of man because 9 The heart is deceitful
above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jer: 17:9. Man
in his fallenness and natural state runs away from God, and his heart desires
to do what he wants to do fulfill the desires of his flesh. This is the natural
heart of every human outside of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the reason the
law was given to us and the law points us to Jesus Christ and in Him the law
was fulfilled.
Supporting
Scriptural references:
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife,
seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and
such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time
past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God; Gal:
5:19-21.
8 But
the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and
whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their
part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second
death; Rev: 21:8.
Other
Scriptural references for further reading: Col. 3:5; Eph. 5:5; Heb. 13:5; 1 Tim. 6:9, 10; Matt. 6:20. All the necessary guide lines for a godly,
righteous life are in His Word and as believers we are called to be
accountable. God’s law is not given to us for destruction but for edification
so that we may know the truth and truth sets us free from the bondage of sins
and death. The law is there for fallen, hopeless, guilty sinners to come to
Christ. 26 To declare, I say, at
this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him
which believeth in Jesus;
Rom 3:26.
Covetousness in human heart is a huge sin
and when allowed to grow it will yield fruits of wickedness. It deceives anyone,
blinds the soul into believing a lie and separates us from God. 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; Lk:12:15. This is a strong warning to guard our heart against covetousness
and every greed of any description. May God continue to minister to us in body,
mind, and spirit and in our emotions as we meditate on His Word in our heart.
Thank you God for Your Son Jesus Christ and for Your Spirit.
Website References:
cov·et·ous (kŭv′ĭ-təs) adj. Feeling, expressing, or characterized by a
strong or immoderate desire for the possessions of another: "At least
three European ...
I. For some time now the Lord has been laying upon my heart a series of
messages on the SIN OF COVETOUSNESS, which is forbidden by the 10th
Commandment: “THOU …
dictionary.reference.com/browse/covetous
Covetous definition, inordinately or wrongly desirous of
wealth or possessions; greedy. ... covetousness, noun. noncovetous,
adjective. noncovetously, adverb.
