Thou Shalt Not Covet by Diyanne Podhaczky

I remember some years ago; we focused on our new theme “10 Words” as a church. I was recently reflecting on Pastor Jim’s message on coveting vs. contentment. Presently, in this world, it is hard to avoid the coveting vs. contentment battle. It seems the very nature of our existence from birth is always to be wanting but never have enough. The commandment against coveting is the last and perhaps the capstone of all the commandments.

What exactly is the nature of this sin of covetousness?  Paul called covetousness idolatry,

“Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry” (Col 3:5 NASB).

As Christ-followers, our lives should most fully reflect contentment in Christ Himself.  Jesus promised this to us He said to them,

“Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (Jn 6:35 NASB).

John Piper in his book Future Grace writes,

“In other words, what it means to believe in Jesus is to experience Him as the satisfaction of my soul’s thirst and my heart’s hunger. Faith is the experience of contentment in Jesus. The fight of faith is the fight to keep your heart contented in Christ— to really believe, and keep on believing, that He will meet every need and satisfy every longing… Whenever we sense the slightest rise of covetousness in our hearts, we must turn on it and fight it with all our might using the weapons of faith.”[1]

How do we fight against covetousness in our lives?  By realizing the lies behind what we covet and fighting those lies with biblical truth.  Here are some verses to help us to do this:

• Covetousness never brings satisfaction: Eccl 5:10; Lk 12:15
• Covetousness chokes off spiritual life: Mk 4:19
• Covetousness spawns many other sins: 1 Tim 6:10; Jas 4:2
• Covetousness lets you down when you need help most: 1 Tim 6:7
• Covetousness destroys the soul: 1 Tim 6:9-12

So, as Christ-followers, how are we to find contentment in this life? How do we fight the sin of covetousness? Covetousness is no different than any other sin; and it must be fought like every other sin, by lining up our hearts and minds to the word of God.

One of the most common phrases we can hear Christian people say is, “I will be happy when....” What an insult to Jesus! We should be happy right now with the incredible blessings and riches we have in Him. We are not to covet what we do not have. It is easy to dismiss covetousness as a minor thing or simply ‘being human.’ But really, we are either living as people who are content or coveting. Proverbs 4:23 says,

Guard your heart above all else, for it, determines the course of your life” (Prov 4:23 NLT).

Why not ask for God to move your heart from coveting the world to being more content today.

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[1] Piper, John. Battling the Unbelief of Covetousness: The Purifying Power of the Promises of God. (Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah, 2012), 222.