Tag Archives: covetousness

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Consequences of Coveting

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Read | Exodus 18:17-21

People oftentimes develop a desire for something that is not in God’s plan for them. When they fail to attain what their heart is set on, the desire can build into intense, unrelenting pressure.

Christians who are consumed by covetousness have ceased to depend on God. To reach a goal, some will manipulate circumstances because they’ve lost faith in the Lord’s ability to know what is best and provide it. Such behavior indicates a rejection of God’s sovereignty. Then fear becomes an issue as the person chases harder and harder after the object of his desire.

The consequences of jealousy are painful: A believer’s spiritual sensitivity can be weakened to the point that he no longer hears when God speaks to him. As a Christian distances himself from the Lord, an envious attitude is likely to breed ungratefulness. It’s hard to be thankful for the things one has when the focus is on what’s lacking.

Covetousness leads to a life of tension and worry. Jethro wisely advised his son-in-law Moses to search for assistants who hated ill-gotten gain. These men were more interested in what God provided for them than in what they could acquire for themselves. If we want to be like them, we must focus on God’s purpose for our life. When we are sensitive to His voice, He will teach us to distinguish between desires falling within His will and those that lie beyond. As believers, we have the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit to help us resist the lure of wrong desires. Covetousness does not have to be our downfall.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Landmine of Covetousness

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Read | Ephesians 5:1-5

One of the best-concealed landmines in the life of a believer is covetousness. We tend to think the term simply describes a desire for an item belonging to another person, but it goes deeper than that. Covetousness is an intense yearning for something we do not have, coupled with the belief that we will not be happy or satisfied until we get it.

If we are driven by an insatiable longing that distracts us from our relationship with God, then we are in danger—such intense craving is really a form of idolatry. Our preoccupation with satisfying the desire translates into our placing higher priority on the object than on God. That is the very nature of idol worship.

We all have desires of the heart, and many of these are planted by the Lord Himself. Longings within the framework of God’s will are acceptable. For example, there is nothing in the Scriptures that says it is wrong to want a nice house or a reliable car. God has a purpose, plan, and time worked out to meet our needs and supply legitimate wants. However, when we choose to fulfill a God-given desire in a way that is not in keeping with the Lord’s will, we are guilty of covetousness.

The reason covetousness is so damaging is that it has no end. When we achieve one goal that we thought would satisfy, we discover that we are still not content. So we look to something else that we think will bring satisfaction. But nothing can bring peace and genuine contentment to our heart other than a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Contentment

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“For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Philippians 4:11

Suggested Further Reading: 1 Timothy 6:6-11

The apostle Paul was a very learned man, but not the least among his manifold acquisitions in knowledge was this—he had learned to be content. Such learning is far better than much that is acquired in the schools. Their learning may look studiously back on the past, but too often those who cull the relics of antiquity with enthusiasm, are thoughtless about the present, and neglect the practical duties of daily life. Their learning may open up dead languages to those who will never derive any living benefit from them. Far better the learning of the apostle. It was a thing of ever-present utility, and alike serviceable for all generations; one of the rarest, but one of the most desirable accomplishments. I put the senior wrangler and the most learned of our Cambridge men, in the lowest form compared with this learned apostle; for this surely is the highest degree in humanities to which a man can possibly attain, to have learned in whatsoever state he is, to be content. You will see at once from reading the text, upon the very surface, that contentment in all states is not a natural propensity of man. Ill weeds grow apace; covetousness, discontent, and murmuring, are as natural to man as thorns are to the soil. You have no need to sow thistles and brambles; they come up naturally enough, because they are indigenous to earth, upon which rests the curse; so you have no need to teach men to complain, they complain fast enough without any education. But the precious things of the earth must be cultivated. If we would have wheat, we must plough and sow; if we want flowers, there must be the garden, and all the gardener’s care. Now, contentment is one of the flowers of heaven, and if we would have it, it must be cultivated.

For meditation: Proverbs 30:7-9: the balanced prayer of Agur, an observant and humble man. Covetousness is the enemy of contentment.

Sermon no. 320

9 July (Preached 25 March 1860)

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Our Daily Bread — Money Talk

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1 Timothy 6:6-12

Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God. —1 Timothy 6:17

Marilyn and Steven had been married just a few years, and money was tight. But as she looked at their threadbare bedspread, she wanted to replace it. So she decided she would buy a new one with a credit card—hoping to somehow find the money to pay it off.

Her devotional reading for the day surprised her when it pointed her to Proverbs 22:27, “If you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you” (NIV). Marilyn decided not to go into debt for a new bedspread that day.

Decisions about the way we spend our money are a personal matter between us and the Lord and can be difficult to make. But God hasn’t left us without help. He tells us: “Honor the LORD with your possessions” (Prov. 3:9), and “You cannot serve both God and Money” (Matt. 6:24 NIV).

With such truths in mind, we look further in His Word for help to use money wisely. We find this: “Beware of covetousness” (Luke 12:15). Another says, “The borrower is servant to the lender” (Prov. 22:7). And in 1 Timothy we read, be “ready to give, willing to share” (6:18).

Money is a big issue. God, who provides for all our needs, can show us how to use it to bring Him honor. —Dave Branon

Lord, sometimes money and finances are

overwhelming. It’s hard to know what decisions

to make, so please lead me and give the wisdom

to use my finances in a way that pleases You.

Never let gold become your god.