Tuesday: The Steps of Covetousness
Like all sins, covetousness begins in the heart. It starts inside us and then works outward. This is what happened in Eden.
Read Genesis 3:1-6. What did Satan do to lure Eve into sin? How has he used the same principles through the ages to deceive us, as well?
Image © Krieg Barrie from GoodSalt.com
“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate” (Gen. 3:6, NKJV).
If one didn’t know better, one could think that the advertising industry got its paradigmatic example of how to sell its products from the Eden story. The devil presented the fruit of the forbidden tree in a way to create in Eve a desire to want more than she already had, and to make her think that she needed something that she really didn’t. How brilliant! Her fall is a demonstration of the three steps each of us takes when we fall to covetousness: I see, I want, I take.
Covetousness, of course, can be a quiet sin. Like lust, it’s hidden behind the veil of our flesh. But when it finally brings forth fruit, it can be devastating. It can damage relationships, leave scars on your loved ones, and pummel us with guilt afterward.
Let covetousness surface, and it will override any principle. King Ahab saw Naboth’s vineyard, wanted it, and pouted until his queen had Naboth murdered for it (1 Kings 21). Achan could not resist when he saw a garment and money, so he coveted and took them (Josh. 7:20-22). Covetousness is, ultimately, just another form of selfishness.
“If selfishness be the prevailing form of sin, covetousness may be regarded as the prevailing form of selfishness. This is strikingly intimated by the Apostle Paul, when describing the ‘perilous times’ [2 Tim 3:1] of the final apostasy, he represents selfishness as the prolific root of all the evils which will then prevail, and covetousness as its first fruit. ‘For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous’ [2 Tim 3:2].” – John Harris, Mammon,(New York: Lane & Scott, 1849) p. 52.
| Why is it important to recognize in ourselves any and all tendencies toward covetousness? |
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we have to leave our accursed things that we have so that we may be in position to stand for the lord. the LORD can not stand for us when we hold the filthy rags on ourselves,bit covetousness ,hatred and love for money and oneself just to mention but a few!JOSHUA 7:13.....TETTY QALVO
This phrase by RALPH WALDO EMERSON (in Essays, Second Series) should be concerned,
"The covetousness or the malignity which saddens me when I ascribe it to society, is my own."
As christians, how much does greed (or as the poet reffers to as malignity) is affecting ourselves? Does this make us sad? Do we have the perception of covetousness in ourselves?
Should we stop seeing? What do you see? Is seeing bad? How does seeing influence our spirituality?
The Bible says that, “Without a vision we perish”. Therefore it’s very important for me to see what has been hidden from my view. Only God can open our eyes to recognize these hidden facts which will cause us to perish. The truth is hard to digest when we it’s revealed to us through Holy God’s Word we resent people who try to remake us don’t we. Why? Because we see their imperfections glaring back at us.
So, spending time together with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the only way we can make it is through this Spiritual growth process. O Lord give me and the reader a genuine mindset and a willingness to accept the that You can Create with in us a clean heart and renew with in us a right Spirit.
O Lord, We come simply in Your Presence to ask for the strength to continue focusing and moving in the direction the Holy Spirit is leading. In Jesus Name Amen.
The Bible says that, “Without a vision we perish”. Therefore it’s very important for me to see what has been hidden from my view. Only God can open our eyes to recognize these hidden facts which will cause us to perish. The truth is hard to digest when we it’s revealed to us through Holy God’s Word we resent people who try to remake us don’t we. Why? Because we see their imperfections glaring back at us.
The heart is the most deceitful who can know it? Only God can help us through the holy spirit to overcome
Satan works on our desire to have more than what we already have. If we allow selfishness to be a part of our lives then we will never be satisfied with what we have. As a result we begin to covet things that are most times not good for us.
The problem with covetesnous, is its the exact opposite of thankfulness. In Acts 26, when Agrippa told Paul, "You almost persuade me to be a Christian," Paul said, "I wish you were like me except for these chains." Paul did not want what Agrippa had. He wanted Agrippa to have what he had! When we are thankful for God's love in our lives, we will not covet or want what others have. We will want others to have what we have.
We lie to ourselves all the time, and forcing us, believing that we want something. We say to ourselves, well I work for it, I can afford it, if he has it why not get it too. As for everything in life, if it's not cultivated when the time comes for testing, we will fail over and over. The key to staying away from covetousness is to
1. Pray and ask God for wisdom, understanding, and guidance.
2 Cultivate loving and enjoying what we have rather than what we don't have.
3. Be content with what we have not what someone else has.
4. Don't want it just because someone else has it
Yes, the steps of covetousness: "I see, I want, I take"
Truly, this is human way, it is easy to overcome if we commit ourselves to God and always listening to what the Spirit says and do what is right!