Guard Against Covetousness – The Kingdom Curriculum XIV (1)

Guard Against Covetousness

“You shall not covet.” Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21

And He said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15

Our Lives Are More than Possessions

We are all natural-born idolaters. Something in us wants to believe that happiness in life, complete satisfaction, and contentment, can be found in things and fun. The more we are able to possess of the things we earnestly desire, the happier and more fulfilled we will be. Our materialistic age doesn’t help much; indeed, advertising and easy credit only make us lust for more of what we don’t need and can’t afford. Something in us just wants to believe that things and experiences can give meaning and happiness to our lives.

Except, of course, that it never works out that way. Things wear out, lose their charm, and are discarded. Or they don’t delight us as much as we’d hoped they would. Sometimes they’re even more trouble than they’re worth. Experiences come and go and need to be replaced with more fun and excitement, which also goes as soon as it comes.

But do we learn from our disappointments? Well, let’s hope so. Life does not consist in the possession of things or the accumulation of fun times, and it’s a good bet that, whenever we begin to find ourselves thinking too longingly about this, that, or some other material thing, or hankering after the next big experience, covetousness has already begun to set it. Things and fun can’t fulfill or make us happy. Only God can do that. If there is any good at all to coveting, it is in reminding us how ready we are to turn from being content in the Lord to seeking happiness in material things. And this is idolatry.

The truly happy person is the one who meditates on the Law of God day by day (Ps. 1.1, 2). Order your copy of The Law of God today and take up this discipline with joy. Go to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.