Colossians 3:5  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

1Corinthians 10:14  Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.

OK, lets try and define covetousness. Scripture with scripture. Let it define it’s own terms.

Exodus 20:17  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's

with

Deuteronomy 5:21  Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's. 

“Covet” is defined by the Bible itself as simple desire. We think that there has to be some evil intent or degree of desire, but that is not the case. It says desire, and there are no qualifying statements in the context. God is attempting to show you something about your sin nature that will rob him of your unqualified love.

The Rich Young Ruler.

Matthew 19:16  And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

Matthew 19:17  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

Matthew 19:18  He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

Matthew 19:19  Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Matthew 19:20  The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

Matthew 19:21  Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

Matthew 19:22  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Alright, first God tells him that to enter into life he must keep the commandments. (A dispensational  note here. Do not try and get eternal life by keeping the commandments. You are under grace and saved by faith as a free gift from God. This man was before Calvary and instructed by Jesus to keep the law.) What was the rulers reply?  In verse 19 he states “all these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?” It was an honest reply. Notice which of the ten Jesus spoke to him of. 

1.      No murder

2.      No adultery

3.      No stealing

4.      No false witness

5.      Honor father and mother

6.      Love thy neighbor as thyself.

Interesting. Jesus left out four of the ten. What were they?

1.      Keep the Sabbath

2.      no graven images

3.      No other gods before me

4.      No coveting

Well, no problem with the Sabbath. They mostly all kept  it. But look at the three.

Graven images were a major problem in the history of Israel. Then the statement “no other gods before me speaks of Baal and the other gods, such as those who stole the heart of Solomon from God. Then he added “Thou shalt not covet” – desire. The three are an unholy trinity. Covetousness is so close to no other god’s – the only difference is that other god’s such as Baal, Ashtoreth, Dagon, etc were supposed to be personalities. With covetousness we put inanimate objects in place of the god’s. That’s why Paul equates covetousness with Idolatry.

God knew the ruler kept the first six, but He tested him on the last three. He did not say “Hey, you left out ‘thou shalt not covet’, He did it by telling him to “go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.” The rulers response was: “he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.” We read the passage and fault the ruler. He should have sold the stuff gladly. He  could have followed Jesus, been a disciple! What a foolish man. Yet what is it about possessions that they wrap themselves so tightly around our hearts, and pray tell, how do you love the Lord your God with all your might when you love your “stuff”? You don’t love it? Let Jesus suggest you sell a bunch you have hanging around and never use and  see how easy it is. I might use it someday is a poor excuse.

God tested him on covetousness, all his possessions which he obviously didn’t need but couldn’t let go of, and without question, as long as he had riches, he was adding to his collection of “things” He desired something and obtained it….. Covetousness, which the New Testament tells us is idolatry. He failed. I wonder if God were to test you would you pass.  Have the things of this world got a hold of  your heart to where you can’t let them go, even if you knew it was making you an  idolater in His eyes.? The Judgment seat of Christ will see mountains of junk we treasured on earth burn up with shame. Do we wonder why there’s little or no victory over your flesh? We are an army of soldiers playing war games, but have little real combat experience. That is exactly the condition of the church of Jesus Christ in these last days. Revelation  spells it out clearly.

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

Rev 3:15  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

Rev 3:16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
We'll repeat the verse here: Luke 12:15 (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.
It is not just what you "desire", but not being able to let go of that which you obtained through illicit desire

Exodus 3:5 – Moses.

And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

This is the first time the word Holy appears in the Bible. A piece of dirt. Why was the dirt “holy?”

Why did God choose to use the word holy in this context for the first time  it appears? The dirt was holy because of the presence of God. God evidently wanted to associate His holiness in our minds with something devoid of the “things” of this world. A small  piece of  the Judean desert, and God tells Moses it’s HOLY. It was EMPTY. The visible presence of God was manifested  in a bush that wouldn’t burn. Period! He wants our lives to be HOLY. He wants our hearts to be empty so He can fill them, but we have them full to the brim with things that will perish. You will retort. I don’t  love those things. OK, then ask God if he wants you to sell them and give the money to someone  needy, and watch how the heart reacts if he says yes. (Oh, he won’t say yes – perhaps, or perhaps your just not listening.) We will find plenty of reason to excuse our own covetousness, while chiding the rich young ruler for his foolishness. I wonder why God put THAT in the Bible! We better thank God that our salvation is not  dependent on the level  of  covetousness or idolatry our hears.

Exo 18:21

Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:

“Why won’t God use me?” God uses men and women who HATE covetousness. Most people have no idea what it is, hence could not hate it if they would. Now I’m not suggesting that the only reason God fails to use some folk is that their covetous, but it surely is one of the reasons.

Here’s Achan.

Jos 7:21  When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.

Notice that coveting is not the same as “taking”.  Achan coveted first and then “took”. It cost him his life and the lives of his whole family, plus the Thirty-six soldiers that died in the first battle at Ai. He coveted silver, gold, and a Babylonish garment. Notice how clothing is right up there with money.

Let Gehazi testify....

2 Kings 5:2122  So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well?  And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.

How much did the silver and garments cost?

2Kings 5:27 The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow. His coveting was not for a new car, jewelry, a faster computer, or a new dress or suit to add to the already bulging collection. His coveting was for a little money and some clothing.

1Jn 2:15

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. You will reply, “I have Jesus Christ in me and I know the Father loves me.” You are completely correct and entirely  wrong. You are accepted in the beloved and thereby are loved of the Father. However that  is  not what the clause is teaching. It is not about the Fathers love for us, but about our love for Him! You cannot  love God and “things” at the  same time.  If you are window shopping (innocent?) you are displaying a dissatisfaction with what God has given you and a subtil indicator of covetousness. If your heart cannot let go of “things” which God never promised to provide (He said he would provide all our needs!) you simply have a covetous heart. Because that is the nature of our capitalistic culture does not excuse what God hates.  Keep thy heart will all diligence. I wonder what THAT means!

Now, the verse explicitly warns us against loving the things that are in the world.  Go into any mall and check. There are shops of every kind, but if you check it out, most of them are clothing stores. Shoe stores, Jewelry stores Why? It has it’s  roots in the garden of Eden when God almighty clothed Adam and eve. That set the pace. But lambskin doesn’t do justice to the beauty of the body, which our sin natures still seek to glorify. You have more than enough, but you want more. Covetousness pure and simple. And a garage full of toys, once cherished until we purchased them, and now they sit as cast off treasure, but treasure none the less – and where a mans treasure is, there will his heart be also.

We are supposed to be different than the world. But we exchange God’s glory in our lives, for our own pleasure and glory. What is it that we don’t understand  about “love not the world neither the THINGS that  are in the world”. Your only defense is that “I don’t love them”, but that won’t work. It’s a sick kind of love, but love it is, and it’s hurting you and your family.

You are still going to try and justify your idolatry. Lets talk about that. Here’s a good one. “God gave me all this stuff as gifts.”

James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights,

with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

This verse has nothing to do with the toys in y0ur garage, (or in your living room) or the clothes in your closet that you don’t wear. You like them there but skip over them when deciding to wear for the day. So they take up space. In your closet and in your heart. (ok just decide to give what you don’t wear or need away – be honest). God has to move over and patiently wait for all the rooms in your heart.

The gifts spoken of in James 1:17 are spiritual in nature. For instance, Chapter one verse five. If any man lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth liberally. These gifts are good and perfect. Nothing man made is perfect. When you children were born you were relieved to see all fingers and toes etc “perfect”. Gifts from a loving father. Not only that but James was written to the twelve tribes scattered abroad. Dispensationally, James is a tribulation book and will  find  the sign  gifts to Israel in effect again along with a few  others.

Mark 16:17  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

Mark 16:18  They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

So what about the rich? Here we are going to have to print a good part of 1Timothy 6.

Who are the rich. Certainly not y0u. You can hardly pay your bills no matter  how much you make. But in reality we are rich. We have  all we need and much we don’t need. Let’s see what Paul told Timothy about these things.

1Timothy 6:6  But godliness with contentment is great gain.

We judge gain by what we have, but God judges it by how  content we are with Him.

1Timothy 6:7  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

1Timothy 6:8  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

Once again the virtue of contentment is paramount.

1Timothy 6:9  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

Hey, I’m not trying  to be rich!  Good for you. You are rich already.

You have more than you need. You are rich.

1Timothy 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.

1Timothy 6:11  But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

Paul tells  Timothy to FLEE these things. FLEE! He doesn't just say avoid them or "don't play with them". He say Flee. It's hurt you!

1Timothy 6:12  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

1Timothy 6:13  I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;

1Timothy 6:14  That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:

1Timothy 6:15  Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

1Timothy 6:16  Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

1Timothy 6:17  Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

He has given us much to enjoy. What are we to do with it all……..?

Eph 4:28  Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

1Timothy 6:18  That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;

1Timothy 6:19  Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

God promised to supply needs.

Philippians 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

The trick is to ask yourself if what you are intending to add to your collection of “things”, whether they be clothing, male “toys” (like the kind now in your basement or garage that no longer have that “new” (I desire it – covetousness) appeal, is really something you “need”.

How will we hold our heads up at the Judgement Seat of Christ, standing next to Paul, Richard Wurmbrandt, believers in China, Pakistan, and other Muslim dominated countries who lived in fear and poverty loving only God and his people. Who had not the riches of this world, but were rich in the Love of God.

Let Paul describe some of those for you.

Hebrews 11:33  Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

Hebrews 11:34  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Hebrews 11:35  Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

Hebrews 11:36  And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

Hebrews 11:37  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

Hebrews 11:38  (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

I will hang my head in shame as my worldly treasures witness against me.

Let’s peek in  at Moses

Hebrews 11:23  By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.

Hebrews 11:24  By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;

Hebrews 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

Hebrews 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

Hebrews 11:27  By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

Hebrews 11:28  Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

Hebrews 11:29  By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

Why did God choose Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt? There may be reasons we do not know, but some things are obvious. He had access to all the riches of Egypt. Much more than he needed, yet he stuck up for his brethren and was led to give up all for a shepherds life in Midian, Marrying the daughter of a Midianite priest.

Exo 2:22  And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.

He waited patiently for 40 years herding someone else’s sheep and living contentedly as a nomad. He never looked back at all the “stuff”. God had given him something he considered better. He never dreamed that because “patience had her perfect work (James 1:4) in his heart, God would choose to use him to lead Israel out of bondage, and write five books of the Old testament! What would God do with me If I let go of the bondage of the “THINGS” of this world, and God had all of my heart.

So you’re not convinced? Let John give us more instruction.

Rev 2:1  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

Rev 2:2  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

Rev 2:3  And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

Rev 2:4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

The church at Ephesus had a LOT right. But God had somewhat against them. In this case they left their first love. Easy to do, but the point here is that you can be right about a lot. You can go to church, sing the songs, read the Bible, pray, you can labour for his name’s sake, and give to your church and people. But untill we cry out with David, “search me oh Lord”, we can be covetous without even realizing it.  We might ask the question, why does God hate it so much? The only possible answer is  that it takes a “room” of your heart and excludes God from it. He wants you to love him with all thine heart and all thy might. We will have enough to answer for at the judgment. I hope you all will take  this article as  I wrote it. Faithful are the wounds of a friend.

Let’s conclude this article by asking some simple questions.

Clothing

You like to buy nice clothing. Then it is worn for a while, then relegated to a place hanging in a closet or in a drawer packed with more of the same. Did you buy the new stuff (you got it as such a  good price) to please God? Did you consider Him in the purchase? Did you buy it to please people? Were you hoping for some compliment on how well it looks on you? Did you buy it to please your husband? Just why did you purchase it? Did you want to look in the mirror and see how nice it looks on you? No wonder they call the mirror  in your bathroom a “vanity”. What motivated you to spend money on something you simply don’t need? You deserved it! Ah, yes. You deserved it. You work hard for your money.  Come on, let’s just admit it. You got it because you wanted it. You saw it in the store or online and it appealed to you, you desired (coveted it– Deuteronomy 5:21) and you purchased it. You got a good deal. Perhaps that was part of your motivation. Nonetheless you are, according to the apostle Paul, and Idolater.

How about it sir,

You don’t really need that new “Johnson rod” (term for any male toy). but you desired it and you rationalized until you were sure you needed it, or at least you convinced yourself that you did. Now it sits in the garage. Do you covet fellowship with GOD with the same desire that led you to buy an item that would take His place in your heart?
You wanted it. You desired it. You coveted it. You bought it. 

Now, I’m talking about “stuff” I am not talking about genuine articles that are useful and save you work and time. I’m talking about “stuff, and God knows that you NEED some stuff, but surely not more and more and more that we don’t NEED.

One of the verses that I began this article with deserves some explanation.

1Corintians 10:14  Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.

You might tell your children to flee from strangers that appear to friendly. RUN! Get away! Flee!

Paul tells us some other things to flee.

1Co 6:18  Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

Fornication is to be fled from. When? At the first desire. Play with it in your mind (covet) and you will fall victim to a horrible sin. Flee!!

2Ti 2:22  Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

When God tells us to flee from idolatry, we should flee it with the same earnest fear of sin that we would if we were temped to fornication.

Let's wrap it up. We want to be all God wants us to be. It often takes Him YEARS to bring us around to holiness and contentment.  James writes:

James 4:5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? Our human spirits are simply lustful. We are to die to self and find our lives in HIM. Paul cries out "for me to live is Christ".

When the things (anything) of this world have no hold on our hearts and we long only after the smile of God on our lives, we are on the shoreline of holiness. When the things God gives us richly to enjoy are only those things that we , along with the hero's of Hebrews, could "take joyfully the spoiling of our goods", we are looking into the holy of holies.

The old song says "Jesus Christ is made to me, all I need - all I need" 

All right. I’m done. I didn’t write this  to get you upset. I wrote it to help you. Our hearts are WICKED, and they will deceive us every time if we don’t seek truth.

Proverbs 4:23  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.