Waste Instead of Wisdom? – The Kingdom Curriculum XIV (4)

Waste Instead of Wisdom?

“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

Coveting Is a Wasteful Way of Life

Covetousness leads to wastefulness. When we covet things or experiences, because we believe they will make us happy or bring us satisfaction, we may be setting ourselves up for wastefulness. What happens instead is that we spend precious time and resources on things that satisfy for the moment, but which never live up to our expectations or hopes. The old tendency to covet cranks up again, and the foolish quest goes on.

Consider the man in Jesus’ parable. He had so many crops that he had nowhere to store them. It never seems to have occurred to him that he might share some of his largesse with the poor and needy. Instead, he took valuable resources–which might have been put to other good uses–and built himself bigger barns, thus allowing him to save all his crops for himself, and to make it possible for him to take his ease and eat, drink, and be merry for years to come.

So, because he was coveting more, he failed to think about others, and he was planning a life of ease and self-indulgence rather than charity and sound wisdom. All because of covetousness. When we covet we may be getting ready to squander precious resources–which, in a very real sense, can be a form of stealing from those who have a rightful claim on those resources (loved ones, the poor, those serving in ministry). How much of God’s tithes is squandered in new things or big fun? No wonder Jesus commanded us to guard against all covetousness.

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.