We come now to the second of the seven deadly sins—covetousness. This requires great attention because we have come to an area where we tend to sprinkle lavender water on our vices and call them virtues.
This prohibition of covetousness shows us the authority of God’s law (even in the Old Testament) over the inner man. The fact that this commandment nails us so completely perhaps accounts for our dislike of it, and tendency to avoid it.
The sin of covetousness is the problem of being discontent with what you have, a discontent which motivates you to yearn for what you do not have in a way contrary to the word of God. It is contrary to the word of God because it is the word of a competing god, an idol. In short, covetousness is a form of idolatry. Not surprisingly, God hates it (Is. 57:17).
Here is the heart of the matter: the sin of covetousness is not caused by modern advertising. Our covetousness-inflaming advertisers do abound, but they have the good fortune to operate in a seller’s market. “And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed . . . covetousness . . . All these evil things come from within, and defile a man” (Mark 7:20-23). Jesus tells us that this sin requires a sharp lookout (Lk. 12:15).
The sin of covetousness includes sexual covetousness. It is not an accident that one of the things listed in the tenth commandment is your neighbor’s wife. This overlaps with another sin, which is of course lust, but covetousness still has to be understood separately. “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled . . . Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb. 13:4-5). For someone in the grip of this sin, the lust is fueled, not just by the fact that the woman is attractive, but by the fact that she is also taken.
The man who covets does not love. The man who loves his neighbor refuses to covet (Rom. 13:8-10). Covetousness is not a victimless activity. It should disgust Christians, and is listed among those things that are even too contemptible to mention (Eph. 5:3). This sin is cross fodder: Paul tells us to mortify our members which are upon the earth (Col. 3:5-7). One of our members which is on the earth is covetousness, a sin which keeps a lot of bad company (Jer. 22:17; Rom. 1:28-32). One of the central means which enables us to put this sin to death is the word of God (Ps. 119:35-36). Hearing God’s testimonies rightly excludes covetousness.
This sin is made by many into a respectable sin, and can even show up at church. Covetousness is not like regular participation in orgies; it is commonly a respectable and very religious sin. As Christians, we are called to be hearers and doers, not hearers alone. When professing believers fall into the self-deception of hearing but not doing (Jas. 1:22), one of the reasons for this is that their heart goes after covetousness (Ez. 33:31). The problem can be pervasive throughout a people, from the least to the greatest. When covetousness grips a people, the leaders of the church are not immune (Jer. 6:13; 8:10). And often the the hucksters know how to make merchandise of the faith. The lake of religious faith is a place where the covetous learned to fish a long time ago (2 Pet. 2:3). This is so common that true teachers of the word must take special care in this regard (1 Thess. 2:5). And even when the offering is given in accordance the word, assurances are still necessary (2 Cor. 9:5).
We cannot leave the subject without talking for a moment about the politics of covetousness. It is remarkable how the Bible addresses this in the realm of what we would call politics. Avoidance of this sin is necessary in anyone who would aspire to civil office. When we come to choose men for political office, one of the things the Bible requires is that we find men who hate covetousness (Ex. 18:21). It is not enough simply to have avoided personal covetousness. A man is not qualified to serve a nation unless he hates this sin. What is the alternative? When civil rulers do not hate covetousness, the alternative is great oppression. “The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days” (Prov. 28:16).
As we deal with this sin, we have to remember the antidote to all sin. Just as the solution to our sloth is not our works, so the solution to our covetousness is not our acquisitions. One of the more interesting passages in Paul’s letters is this one: “Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s” (1 Cor. 3:21-23). Covetous? How would that be possible if we understood that we already own all things in Christ?