June 10

Covetousness

And the dead man sat up and began to speak! Then Jesus gave him back to his mother. — Luke 7:15 BSB

This is one of the warnings Jesus gave that many people today don’t seem to take seriously. Jesus spoke often about the danger of wealth, but not many people are afraid of riches. In today’s world, covetousness isn’t often seen as a sin. If someone breaks the sixth or eighth commandment, they are branded a criminal, but if they break the tenth, they are often seen as ambitious. The Bible tells us that the love of money is the root of all evil, but people often emphasize the word “love,” excusing the pursuit of wealth as long as it’s not an obsession.

From the way people act, you’d think that life really does consist in the abundance of possessions. People believe that greatness comes with wealth, and the world seems to agree, measuring people by their bank accounts. But this is a fatal error. A person is truly measured by their character, not by what they own. You can find people with vast fortunes who have small, withered souls, and people in poverty with grand, noble spirits.

The most important thing is to gather into our lives all that is truly great and noble in character. Here are two scriptures that help settle this matter:

“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—think about such things.”

“Add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.” Notice that neither of these verses encourages us to think about possessions, nor do they tell us to pursue wealth.