Coveting 3 - 5

3 – Coveting=Greed

M. G Blankenship again says…

Coveting kind of boils down to Greed

We even see this concept of coveting in a young child: They are happy with their toy UNTIL they see another kids toy!
When we are not happy with what we have, we begin to desire what we do not have, and look for ways to satisfy the desire our selves.

Colossians 3:5 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ---> GREED BECOMES IDOLATRY:

Our heart was created to be satisfied by God! Coveting allows things to take the place of God in our hearts!
God says "seek ye first the kingdom" =

GREED seeks the "kingdom of things"

4 – We can lead people to covet

We should also be careful to not lead people down the road of coveting by our own actions.

Jesus Speaking of the Pharisees

Mathew 23 5-7

5 "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries[a] wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.‘

1 Peter 3:3
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.

Instead we should be humble

Psalm 18:27
You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

Psalm 147:6
The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.

Matthew 23:12
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

5 – The opposite of covet is to be content and love.

The opposite of coveting and the fix is contentment, to understand that what God provides to us is what he thinks we can handle and work with. The value of what we posses through God is no greater or less then anything any one else has. In 1 Timothy we learn…

1 Timothy 6:5-10

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.