Luke 12:15
“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”
When my daughter was younger, she struggled a lot with strep throat. I remember my wife taking her to the doctor to have them swab her throat to see if she actually had strep throat. That test helped us to determine if she had the infection and how to treat it if she did. That test was important because infection could lead to heart damage if she didn’t get proper treatment.
Many Christians don’t realize how much covetousness can affect their heart. Just like strep throat, if covetousness is not quickly diagnosed, it will affect the heart of the Christian. Jesus used the parable about a rich fool to give the covetousness test. In this parable, you can find out of you have the symptoms of covetousness. Let’s go through the test to diagnose if you have been infected with covetousness.
First, covetousness blinds you from seeing God’s blessings. This rich ruler couldn’t see that he had “brought forth plentifully.” Instead of thanking God for what he had, he was complaining because he wanted more. Do you find yourself constantly complaining about God not giving you enough? Be careful that you don’t let covetousness affect you. Covetousness has a way of blinding you from seeing the blessings of God in your life.
Second, covetousness makes you ungrateful for what you already have. This rich man said, “I have no room.” Really? He had enough to hold what God had blessed him with, but that wasn’t enough. Be careful about complaining about what you already have. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that what you have is not enough. What you have is probably more than what most have. What you have is probably more than what you used to have. Covetousness will cause you to be ungrateful for what you have. If you are constantly complaining about not having enough or about thinking that what you have is not good enough, you have been infected with covetousness.
Third, covetousness creates an appetite for things that will never satisfy. This man decided to pull down his barns and build greater barns, but what he didn’t understand is that once they were bigger he still wouldn’t be happy. When you get infected with covetousness, you will find that when you get what you want you still won’t be happy. A covetous person will always want more than they have.
Fourth, covetousness gives you an inward focus. This man made himself the focus and not others. Covetousness will cause you to make everything in life about you. You will see what others have and what you don’t have. It will cause you to see how others are treated better than you. Covetousness will make you a very unhappy person.
The cure for covetousness is to take your eyes off things. The verse above warns us that “life consisteth not in the abundance of the things.” If you will become content with what you do have, you will never see what you don’t have. The richest person in the world is the person who wants what they have. If you will get your wanter to want what you have, you will never fall into the sin of covetousness.