The sin of Covetousness

In all my years in the church, I’ve heard many sermons on fornication, pornography, and even abortion. But one sin that rarely gets addressed is covetousness. It’s so normalized that many don’t even recognize it as a problem or a sin. I’ve seen people covet other people’s spouse, gifts, and blessings, and it’s often disguised as admiration or sometimes, especially in Charismatic churches, as “tapping” into other people’s blessings.

I've realized that there are two things, in particular, that can keep us in prayer yet prevent us from receiving God's grace. One is pride and two is covetousness. Pride makes us feel entitled to what we ask of God, or feel superior to others even in prayer. Remember the Pharisee who prayed that “I thank you, God, that I am not like other people”.

Covetousness, on the other hand, drives us to pray and seek after what others have, not out of gratitude or God’s will for us, but out of envy and pride. Instead of being thankful for what God is doing in our lives and the lives of others’, we often think, “Why not me?” or “I deserve that!”. This way of thinking only robs us of true joy, peace and contentment in God.

I know that sometimes it’s hard to keep our eyes off our neighbor’s plate, so I’m not sure if this will help you feel better, but if you think others are having a better life because of the things God has given them, or if you think God’s grace is unfair, wait until you see God’s judgment.

We all will be held accountable for what we do with what we have received by Grace. That’s the other side of grace that’s often overlooked. Grace isn’t just about what we receive from God, but also what we do with what we’ve received. Many of us desire blessings but forget the accountability that comes with them. Maybe it’s just because we don’t know who God really is. He is just and He is fair.

As the Apostle Paul says, we are to be faithful stewards of God’s grace. There was a time that many people in the church wanted to be teachers, and the Apostle James warned them that, “Why do you all want to be teachers? Don’t you know that teachers will be judged more strictly?”

God's grace is too valuable to be misused or abused. And those who think they are better or superior to others because of what they have or who they are by the Grace of God, remember this… if you have been given much, much is required. Much is required in your actions. Much is required in your words. Much is required in your thinking, and much is required in your impact.

You will be accountable for what you have received by grace. I will be accountable as a spouse. I will be accountable as a father. I will be accountable as a leader. We'll be accountable for the children we've been given, the gifts we've received, even the opportunities we've had. So you see, whether we receive more or little, that's not what's important. It's about how faithful we are as stewards of what we have received by His grace.