Theme: BEWARE OF COVETOUSNESS
INTRODUCTION:
One of the evils, of which materialism and the love of money is the root, is covetousness. It is a sin to which people who suffer from the “good life” mania are easily and often exposed. But because covetousness is an abomination and those who indulge in it are in danger of God’s judgment, Christians are sternly warned against it. Covetousness is a noun gotten from the root verb “covet” which means “to have a strong desire to possess something that belongs to somebody else” (Encarta English Dictionary, 2009). Thus, Oldham’s dictionary of the English language defines covetousness as “the state of being inordinately desirous of possessing, or excessively eager to acquire” things that do not belong to you. In the coming days, we shall be looking at the vice of covetousness, its effects on the believer, its dangers and how we can have a proper attitude towards other people’s wealth or possessions.
Text: “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.
Comment: This exhortation by Jesus Christ firmly warns us against covetousness. One who wants to grab the property of another person, or is obsessed with acquiring possessions is covetous. (Ecclesiastes 5:10) Because the Bible says that God Almighty abhors all who are covetous (Psalm 10:3), we as God’s children, should beware of covetousness. Some worshippers count success only in terms of material possessions and make themselves to believe that their happiness lies in obtaining what others have, at all costs. Thus, they become exposed to vices like greed, envy and covetousness which are incompatible with the high ideals of the Christian Faith. Children of God should consistently seek the “happy medium” as expressed by Agur when he prayed, “… give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me…” (Proverbs 30:7-9) Prayers like this instil in us the consciousness to run away from covetousness.
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