THE GLORY OF COVETOUSNESSCoveting: Bad and Good
by Peter MastersFROM SWORD & TROWEL 1999 NO 1
But . . . covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints
(Ephesians 5.3).
IT MAY SOUND surprising, but it is a fact that Adam and Eve were created ‘covetous’.
From the beginning, they longed for gratifying things, but in a good sense. They were made beings of
anticipation and desire. That is human nature even at its most refined.
Of course, we were made to explore the Lord. We were made to drink in throughout eternity
new sights, new understandings, and an ever-growing awareness of the wonderful being of God. We
were made for the everlasting exploration of His handiwork.
The Garden of Eden was crowded with innumerable things to discover and enjoy. Every hour
our first parents walked the garden with their hearts full of expectation. But then came the sin of man,
and the fall from God’s favour. Human hearts became darkened and evil, but still deeply buried in our
nature was a love and longing for things to be enjoyed. Once-holy desires riveted themselves on earthly
things. Since then, we have been unfulfilled as far as God is concerned, and at the mercy of fleshly
appetites. The haunting couplet of Isaac Watts states the case:
Man has a soul of vast desires,
And burns within with restless fires.
This article, I hope, will not thunder against covetousness. It will not point the finger,
or try to make the reader feel wretched. It will reflect more the sympathy of the Lord, focusing on the
personal harmfulness of covetousness, and then on the features of good covetousness. We
cannot get rid of bad covetousness unless we replace it with good longings
and desires.
The verse quoted above - Ephesians 5.3 - shows both the seriousness of
covetousness, and also the avoidability of it. We are surely encouraged to hear that it is a sin which may
be conquered to the extent that it is not once named among us. It should not be, and it is
possible that it will not be - but only when this ‘soul of vast desires’ fixes its view on good and
spiritual possessions.
We do not want to give the impression that nothing in this world may be appreciated. There
are many, many things which we have been given to enjoy. We may legitimately desire, acquire,
possess and enjoy, numerous earthly benefits. Wrong covetousness is when we want
material things excessively or selfishly, as the following definition, drawn from several Bible words,
shows.
It is fascinating to discover the literal sense of different Old Testament words denoting
covetousness. One of them means simply to wish for, desire, or long for. It has the idea of fixing the eye
upon a thing and dreaming of it. Another focuses more on the delight which is involved in
covetousness. The first word highlights strength of desire, while the second supposes that we have now
obtained something, and revel in it, relish it, gaze at it, deriving great pleasure from the fact that we
possess it (especially if other people do not). Credit is reflected on us. We must go home, look at the
object of delight, and be boosted by it.
Another Old Testament word could be translated ‘love of gain’, or love of more. To some
people this is the engine of life. There is always something new to have. To stand still gives little
satisfaction. New aspirations constantly ignite these restless minds. The ‘lover of more’ comes to feel
that he deserves more, and is worthy of more. Here is pure greed, acquiring
ever increasing things simply for the sake of having them. In this word, the covetous person is seen as
being driven by appetites.
A final and rare word describes a push for absolute security. We see here people who want to
lift themselves above the calamities of life. They take steps to provide for themselves so that they need
never be anxious. In the Old Testament, certain rulers sought to place themselves beyond conquest or
any other risk. Ordinary people also attempt this. This is not about making reasonable and legitimate
provision for the future, but it is a craving to be impregnable and undisturbable.
New Testament Greek coveting words are strikingly similar. There is one, however, which is
different, and this adds to our concept of covetousness. It means to stretch. It speaks of
the effort of reaching out to possess the thing desired. It shows covetousness to be a very
costly passion, which dominates the mind and displaces concern for the things of God, for witness, and
even the pursuit of holiness. Most of the offender’s emotional energy becomes focused on getting or
attaining an earthly objective. This comes first.
Another word means to set the heart on. Yet another is to desire more.
Another is to be fond of silver or of money, and all that it can buy. These words
together provide a comprehensive definition of covetousness. They cover the thinking
element, including the initial desiring and growing longings. They show the cost of getting it, and the
nourishing of satisfaction by gloating and relishing. They include even the passion for absolute security.
‘Beware of covetousness,’ says the Lord, in the Parable of the Rich Fool. It is to be feared.
Here are some reasons why.
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FIRST, covetousness is intensely damaging to believers because it is carnal, animal
and earthly. It is all to do with the Fall. It is fleshly. When covetousness takes over we become
focused on earthly goods or attainments. Covetousness is the passion of the unsaved, and God will not
have it admitted to Heaven. Paul says - ‘For this ye know, that no . . . covetous man
. . . hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.’
Apart from its offensiveness to God, it overturns the sensitive equipment of the believer’s
soul, dragging it away from spiritual concerns and back to earthly ones.
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SECONDLY, covetousness must damage believers because it is an act of
worship. In Ephesians 5.5 it is described as a form of idolatry. It is an act of
worship in which we depend upon worldly sources of relief, comfort, satisfaction and pleasure instead
of divine benefits. It is the switching of devotion from God to earth.
‘Let your conversation be without covetousness,’ says the writer of
Hebrews, ‘and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said,
I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ There is an unmistakable ‘either-or’ nestling in
this verse. ‘If you are covetous,’ says the Lord, in effect, ‘you cannot seek your pleasures from Me. You
have committed idolatry. You have chosen to worship at this world’s shrine, rather than at the true
shrine.’ In Luke 16 the Lord says, ‘No servant can serve two
masters.’ The alternatives are God or mammon.
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THIRDLY, covetousness undoubtedly dulls and anaesthetises all our spiritual
aims, tastes and values. The more covetous we are, the less we desire and enjoy spiritual blessings.
Covetousness makes us skip our devotional reading and lose fervour and commitment in our prayers. If
we are engaged in service for the Lord, we soon begin to take shortcuts. We prepare less thoughtfully
and lovingly our lessons and visual aids, or whatever we do.
In Psalm 119.36 the psalmist says -‘Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and
not to covetousness.’ It is one or the other. Either I yearn for spiritual advance, or for material gain. It
cannot be both. The apostle Paul makes the same point in Colossians 3.2: ‘Set your
affection on things above, not on things on the earth.’
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FOURTHLY, covetousness severs our communion with God. In Isaiah
57.17 God says, ‘For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wrath, and . . . I hid me.’ If I am
covetous, even momentarily, God hides from me. He will not smile on me. I will not be assured; I will
not have His blessing so wonderfully poured down upon me.
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FIFTHLY, covetousness is to be feared because it eventually takes a believer
over. Proverbs 21 tells us of a poor man who nevertheless ‘coveteth greedily all the
day’. In other words he became obsessed with the object of his desire.
Perhaps the most famous passage containing the coveting word is 1 Timothy 6.10
- ‘For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred
from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.’ Paul is speaking about Christians
who toyed with covetousness and became so backslidden that they denied the faith. No doubt God
would have chastened them and brought them back, but not without many sorrows. Covetousness gets a
hold on us, and soon grows greater than our power to control it.
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SIXTHLY, covetousness is to be feared because it is probably the most stealthy of all
sins. When Paul wants to give an example of how the law is needed to point out sin, he chooses
covetousness. ‘I had not known lust,’ he says, ‘except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet’
(Romans 7.7). Covetousness is so crafty and quiet that the law must make us aware of it. We are
drawn gradually into it. Though wilful, as we set our minds on earthly things, the desire snowballs, and
we do not see where we are heading. Here is an unrecognised sin, only to be detected by honest self-
examination. What am I after? What am I day-dreaming about? What is swamping my desires?
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SEVENTHLY, covetousness is to be avoided because it is such an infectious
sin. My sin will ruin others. It will ruin my children. This is why (along with other sins) Paul
commands that we keep no company with a covetous person. ‘If any man that is called a brother,’ he
says, ‘be covetous . . . with such an one no not to eat.’ It is one of the excommunicable sins partly
because it is so infectious.
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EIGHTHLY, covetousness is to be torn away from our hearts because it disqualifies
from leadership roles in the church of Christ. When Moses was instructed how to appoint
leaders in his day, he was told that they must be those ‘hating covetousness’. One of the essential
qualifications of an office bearer mentioned in 1 Timothy 3.3 is that they are ‘not
covetous’. Paul says to the elders of the church at Ephesus - ‘I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold.’
Covetousness ruins Christian service, and disqualifies from leadership. It is essential that we avoid it.
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NINTHLY, covetousness is to be avoided because it fuels self-reliance, and a
spirit not willing to accept the providence of God. Habakkuk 2.9 reads - ‘Woe to him that
coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered
from the power of evil!’ (Evil here means calamity.) We have already noted this form of
covetousness. It describes a person who loves his money and earthly possessions so much he must
ensure that he will never lose them. He does not want to think that anything could pull him down. He
goes beyond reasonable provision. He cannot rest in the hands of God, and trust Him.
To summarise, covetousness is a craving for something for me. It is revelling in that thing
and drawing satisfaction from it. It is pride in the possession of the thing. It is always wanting more. It
is placing an object of desire before the love and service of the living God. It is striving for absolute
self-provision and security. These are the monster’s several heads.
How may we avoid covetousness? Here are a few sentences of direct advice. Do not day-
dream about possessing earthly things. Do not dwell on them overmuch. If you have to think hard, and
weigh options in making a decision, ration your thoughts.
Never let a decision about a material acquisition occupy your attention morning, noon and
night, for you will be hijacked by the coveting process. Do not justify things that you know you do not
really need. And if you are covetous with small things, never say to yourself - ‘Oh, this does not matter,
because it is only a little thing.’ You will be weakened, and the coveting process will reach out for
bigger objectives.
The best way to avoid covetousness is to indulge in positive covetousness. It is
not enough just to fight wrong longings. We need to switch our commitment and desires to better
things. We need to train ourselves, in other words, to covet well.
We must, for example, covet souls and instrumentality for the Lord. We must
long to have these. With Paul we must say - ‘Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is,
that they might be saved’ (Romans 10.1). He coveted souls and instrumentality. We must
long for the souls of our relatives and work colleagues. If we have spare thinking time we should be
asking ourselves - ‘What can I do; what can I contribute; to whom can I speak, in order to get souls?’
We should take responsibility for an unsaved soul in regular prayer. This is the covetousness that God
loves and rewards.
Then again we are to covet holiness. We are commanded in Hebrews
12.14 to ‘follow [pursue or strive after] . . . holiness.’ Many other texts say the
same. We should say to ourselves, ‘I long in this coming week to have greater Christian character. I
long to be a better person, a deeper person, a stronger person, and a more self-controlled person.’
Another positive and priceless object of covetousness is to possess more of the love of
Christ toward others. Paul exhorts in Philippians 2.4 saying, ‘Look not every man
on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.’ If only we could learn to long for the
health, well-being and happiness of others! There are so many people whose needs we know. Can we
help in any way?
When my mind becomes fixed on something for me, perhaps something yet
more for my home, something yet more for my life, may the Lord help me to
switch off those thoughts, and instead long for some blessing to others. Good covetousness desires
benefits for others, especially those of the household of faith.
Another legitimate ‘lust’ is to have the skill and opportunity to edify others. The
apostle says, ‘seek . . . that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.’ (The word ‘seek’ is a strong
coveting word.) This is said in the context of certain spiritual gifts given at that time, but the principle
is for all believers in all ages. Paul also exhorts us only to speak ‘that which is good to the use of
edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers’ (Ephesians 4.29).
We must ask, What is my conversation like? What do I talk about? Do I long for the edifying
and building up of the church? What a good desire this is!
Allied to this is another good desire - namely, a longing for experience in proving the
Lord in daily life. Paul writes, ‘How greatly I long after you all . . . that your love may abound
yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment [or discernment] ’ (Philippians
1.8-9). We should long first for ourselves, and then for other believers. Some are fragile, and
some have just come to Christ. Let us covet their safety with great longing, and desire that the Lord will
give them discernment in these perilous times.
Obviously, it is good covetousness to long for Heaven. In a remarkable text Paul
says, ‘For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire [a tremendous longing] to depart,
and to be with Christ’ (Philippians 1.23). This is a desire which should grow in passion as
we grow in grace.
We should long for Heaven more than anything in this life. Says Paul, ‘Reaching forth unto
those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus’ (Philippians 3.13-14). He wanted future things, and so must we, building up our
anticipation and our hope.
It is a good longing or coveting to want peace with others. ‘Let him seek peace,
and ensue it,’ says Peter (1 Peter 3.11). He uses a coveting verb. Let believers long
for peace. If there is tension between ourselves and another believer, we should long for peace to
be restored. Never say, ‘I am still hurt.’ We must long for that peace which brings pleasure to God and
to ourselves. We must covet also the gift of being bridge-builders who spread peace. It is not enough to
recognise the desirability of this. We must long for it.
Good coveting includes a longing for fellowship. It is said of Epaphroditus that
he longed after the Philippian believers. He pined for their fellowship. A legitimate desire for
fellowship goes beyond the pleasure of friendship. It includes sharing the things of God. It is a
legitimate and good longing to want increased fellowship, but this should include fellowship in spiritual
succour and service.
Most of all we should covet to please the Saviour. Paul complains - ‘all seek
their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s’ (Philippians 2.21). The way to cure bad
covetousness is to long for the interests of Jesus our Lord above all else. If we only day-dreamed about
His work we would be delivered from fleshly, earthly lusts. Let us be those people who pine for the
success of the work of the Gospel. Let us enjoy reading about it, hearing about it, and talking about it.
In conclusion, let us ration our thoughts when it comes to earthly things. Let us switch our
thoughts from the bad to the good form of coveting. Let us set for ourselves new objectives in desiring.
Then the crippling sin of bad desire will be beaten down and will recede into the background.
We certainly are beings of anticipation and desire. May we turn these emotions to great
pleasure and satisfaction by fixing them on godly objectives.
Augustus Montague Toplady wrote a challenging hymn for good covetousness.
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