There is one sin in this life that most people suffer with, especially during their birthday and Christmas. That sin is called covetousness. This is when we desire more than what we really need in life when it comes to the world. And it also means that we love more things over the things of God. This is the biggest problem about coveting, for we begin to seek first the treasures of this life, instead of the treasures in heaven. Even Jesus said, “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. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:15-21) This gives us a lot to discuss when it comes to covetousness, for doing what Jesus said is so important for our salvation. By denying what Jesus says will lead a person on the path of destruction and hell if not repented of.
So what does coveting the things of this world look like? Think of it this way. Each time you desire a new phone each year or every two years when your current phone is working perfectly fine, this is coveting. Each time you feel a need to get the latest and greatest gaming console, like the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, this is coveting. And to make things worse with gaming, most games are about killing, sorcery, and have pornographic like scenes in them. Not to mention how indecent the woman characters appear. This is very evil, and to think you need to play these types of games as a Christian makes no sense to me. These are just two examples of coveting, not to mention the PC gamers, who feel the need to get a new graphics card every year or so, to keep up with the games that come out. And the same can be said about these games also. Praise God that the Lord showed me how wicked games that have magic, killing, nudity, bad language, and more. If people could simply allow the Holy Spirit to indwell in them, then they would see the light and repent of these sins. Lastly, Jesus speaks about people who are treasuring up the things of this world instead of doing God’s will. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:21) And treasuring up worldly things, instead of the things of God will keep a person from going to heaven. So remember what the Lord said and become content with the life God gave you and begin to seek Him first.
Let us pray:
Oh Lord, I pray that people will find out where true joy is found in life. Not in the luxuries of this world, but what You bring into our life. Anything else besides You is temporary. We cannot find eternal happiness in the things we purchase for ourselves or gain as gifts from other people. It is fun and all to receive something new, especially when it is the cutting edge, but soon after we use it the effect wears off. Even do more things come out that are more feature-rich and our heart is now on those things instead. This is where we begin to covet what is not important. Lord, this is the society we live in. Technology is running ramped while causing many people to be financially burdened because of all the things they purchase. Even do people create long lists of items in their Amazon Wishlist, instead of creating long lists of things they wish to do for Your kingdom. How different would the world be if people were seeking daily what they could do for You, God, instead of the world? This would cause all the selfishness in people’s hearts to vanish away, while selflessness would start to take over the world. This is the type of society that ushers in Your love, where people are accepting of it more than anything else. Lord, this is the type of world I wish to be in, but I know that it can only happen this way if people in the faith step out in faith also. We cannot be keeping our belief in You to ourselves and expect anything in this world to change. So I pray for a revival to happen in people’s hearts. That they will begin to seek You first and treasure up the things of heaven. Then, will more of heaven come down to earth, while many people are blessed. I love You, God. I believe in You. Amen.