CONTENTMENT VS. COVETOUSNESS

Exodus 20:17

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

The Cambridge English Dictionary defines “Covetousness” as “a strong desire to have something, especially something that belongs to someone else”. Many of us desire to have more and better things. We envy those who have more than we do.

As believers, the question we need to ask ourselves is: What drives this desire? Why do we long for more?

At its core, covetousness stems from discontentment—a lack of satisfaction with what we have and what God has already provided. We compare and crave for more. 

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One primary reason we fall into covetousness is because we fail to rejoice in the Lord and give thanks in all circumstances.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 

reminds us:                                                           

 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Francis A. Schaeffer in his book ‘True Spirituality,’ noted that covetousness was the very sin that led to the fall of Adam and Eve. A discontentment distances us from God. When we compare ourselves to others and envy what they have, we reveal a heart that is not fully satisfied in God.

God calls us to love Him with all our heart, mind, and strength. But if we allow other things to satisfy us more than He does, those things take the place that belong to Him.

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, writes:

Philippians 4:11–13 say,

“. . .for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Paul’s words show us that contentment was something he had to learn—it was process. It didn’t come automatically after he came to Christ. And so, we too must learn it.

May the Lord help us, like Paul, to find contentment in what He provides, and to trust Him in every situation.

Ps Razo