Covetousness vs Contentment 2

In our last blog we began to look at the sin of covetousness and how it has become so prevalent in our society. Today, we will continue our study by looking at what the Bible has to say about this topic.

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He emphasized loving God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength, and investing in the Kingdom of God through serving others. He never taught His disciples to focus on becoming rich or famous, as we often see today in some religious circles, especially here in the USA.

No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Luke 16:13

Jesus did teach the danger of acquiring and storing up abundance with no intention of sowing abundantly into the Kingdom of God.

15) And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." 16) Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17) And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?'

18) So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19) And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." '

20) But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' 21) "So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God." Luke 12:15-21

As you can see by this true story Jesus shared, the man’s life was wasted on living for himself. He was conceited, covetous and lacked spiritual insight as to pleasing God over his lust for more.

Let me underscore once again, from our last post, God does not mind us having pleasant things, but He cares where those things line up in our priorities. He is a jealous God, and rightfully so, because He is our creator, Lord, and Savior, and no one deserves the place He should have in our hearts.

No one or anything deserves the place in our hearts He should rightfully hold. How we esteem Him is up to us. However, because He is meek and lowly of heart, He will allow us to ignore Him for other things that are fleeting.

“Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ.” Oswald Chambers

Isn’t that what we want? Pure devotion and commitment to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?

However, it has become increasingly more challenging for most of us to keep our focus on our relationship with Christ. There are too many shiny objects vying for our attention every day.

Almost everywhere we turn some new distraction or thing is crying out, “Buy me” or “Try me.” It takes a disciplined mind and self-restraint to be content. Mostly, it takes a greater love for the Father, the Lord, and the Kingdom of God than anything this world can offer.

Someone may say, “Do you mean we should never buy or try new things?” Not at all! God desires us to enjoy all of His benefits and provisions, whether it’s a new house, car, clothing, or other basic necessities of life. But He is against any of those things taking the priority of our hearts and attention.

Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. Genesis 13:2

Like with Abram, the Lord can bless those that serve Him with a pure heart, because He knows they will not cleave to the blessing, but to Him. He knows those who can be trusted with wealth or abundant blessings because they do not have a covetous heart.

There are wealthy people who live modestly, and there are poor people who live extravagantly. The latter will never be wealthy because they are wasting their resources on covetousness, selfishness and vanity.

A friend of mine, named Mario, previously lived in Southern California. He and his brother Luis were part of a maintenance crew for a wealthy investor who owned several apartment buildings. Most of these apartment buildings were approved Section 8 housing for low income families and those needing rental assistance due to disabilities and other qualifying factors.

Often Mario and Luis would work long hours fixing and repairing these damaged apartment units. It was not uncommon for them to knock on a door of a tenant and be greeted by someone who had a new Lexus in the garage, Louis Vuitton shoes and handbags, costly jewelry, exquisite apparel, large screen TV’s, state of the art sound systems, and the latest smartphone in their unit.

My friend marveled because these individuals were sitting around watching Netflix or Soaps while draining the government welfare system and living like kings and queens. All the while, Mario and his brother were driving old vehicles with high mileage, and doing physically exhausting work just to make ends meet.

Obviously, those individuals were living in covetousness by fraudulently taking the government’s assistance to live lavishly at other’s expense. They coveted and took something that was not rightfully theirs. This demonstrates covetousness is not solely a problem for the rich.

As a side note, there are wealthy people who live extravagantly as well. Imelda Marcos was reported as having up to 3,000 pairs of shoes, 888 handbags, and over 500 gowns. By most accounts, that might be excessive. Don’t you agree?

Are you content with what you have? Are you satisfied to live within your means without going into debt for things you don’t actually need?

Here is what the apostle had to say.

6) Now 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 clothing, with these we shall be content. 9) But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10) For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:6-10

He also charged those that were rich how they should conduct themselves as stewards of God’s blessings.

17) Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18) Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19) storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. 1 Timothy 6:17-19

So, the scripture does not condemn having wealth. It condemns covetousness , greed and the love of money. Some of the wealthiest people on earth are also the most generous, though that margin is likely very small.

It's easy to point the finger at the rich and to say they are covetous and self-centered, but when you look at your checkbook or bank account, do you find yourself spending more money on vanity or investing in the Kingdom of God?

The last check my dear mother wrote, before passing this life at ninety years of age, was to an orphan ministry in Haiti. Although she was considered poor by most standards, she had a generous heart and lived to give to others. I am convinced her reward in heaven is great.

Until next time, may God richly bless and keep you.

James Brown CST

04/06/2025