Guard Against Covetousness and Find True Treasure, Part 1

September, 2004

by: Shelbi Cullen

January 1, 2003, was a fun day for Sean and me. We spent the day at the beach goal setting for the New Year. We felt comforted that we had accomplished this task and we began to take ease in the fact that we were set; we could relax. But God had other plans for us; on January 14, 2003, two weeks after our goal setting session; Sean called to say that after 22 years of being employed by his brother, his brother walked in that morning and had fired Sean. I wish I could report that my first response to this new situation was one of godliness but I was just plain angry at how Sean's brother had treated him. And to top it off, I complicated the matter further by becoming anxious about my life. I began to tip–toe into the land of what–ifs. What if we lose our house? What if we have to pull the girls out of Grace School? I suddenly found myself taking my eyes off of God's goodness and choosing instead to feel insecure and faithless. But God who is all–knowing and all–wise used this circumstance to squeeze the true treasure that was lodged in my heart. He exposed a treasure that was filled with anxiousness and selfishness but that was just the fruit of a much deeper problem; my heart was rooted in the sin of covetousness. My next few articles will be addressing this sin by examining the lessons found in Luke 12:13-34. Let me begin this article by defining covetousness; so we understand what we are guarding against. The Greek word for covetousness is πλεονεξία (pleyonexia) and literally means to have a greedy desire to have more, to be materialistic, over doing it, to forge ahead at the expense of others, unsympathetic greed, insatiability in regard to food and possessions, encroaching on what belongs to others. The Bible tells us that covetousness comes from the heart. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness…” (Mark 7:21-22). The Bible also says that when we covet; we are idolaters. “For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” (Eph. 5:5). Finally, God tells us in His Word that covetousness is characteristic of a wicked attitude. “And even they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness…” (Rom. 1:28-29). Next article we will journey through Luke 12:13-34, and discover some principles Jesus gives for guarding against a coveting heart. One, “Stop Fretting About Your Life and Trust God.” Two, “Set Your Mind on Things Above Where Christ Sits at the Right Hand of the Father.” And three, “Stop Focusing on Earthly Things; Invest in the Eternal.”