Covetousness is a Curse

When you hear the word, commandments, and then you take another word, God, with an apostrophe and an s, and put it together, God's commandments. What automatically pops into your mind? You think automatically of the Ten Commandments, don't you? Because they are the heart and core, they're the mainframe of God's commandments. Now, we know that God's commandments aren't greatly loved. They're not greatly followed in society or the world. They tend to get in the way. And they're all broken. They all get broken. But have you ever just kind of sat there and thought to yourself, which is the most often broken commandment? Which one gets broken the most?

I don't know that you can say the Sabbath. Now, obviously, if you don't keep the Sabbath, you are a Sabbath breaker, yes. And obviously, all the time, you're a Sabbath breaker as identification, let's say. But technically, you break the Sabbath only once a week, you know, 52 times a year because it only comes once a week. But even if you're a Sabbath breaker as a designation. But which is the most often broken commandment? Well, I think you could build a strong argument for this one that we find in Deuteronomy 5 and verse 21. Deuteronomy 5 and verse 21, I think we could build a very strong argument for it being the most often broken.

Now, I'm not saying dogmatically that it is. I'm just saying you could build a very strong argument for number 10 being the most often broken. And we will see some of the reasons why as we go through the message today. Neither shall you desire your neighbor's wife, and we have a nation full of that problem today. Neither shall you covet your neighbor's house. If you understand the different levels at which that happens in our day and age, that's very alive and unwell. His field or his man servant or his maid servant don't in our society seem to have to worry too much about that. We might say, you know, okay, we'll just call that employees, whatever. His ox or his donkey or anything that is your neighbor's. Now, obviously what this commandment is speaking to is covetousness. I mean, if you just take a word and put in there that kind of sums up what God is talking about, this is the commandment that's against coveting.

It speaks to covetousness. It speaks to the very common casualty of covetousness.

Even though it doesn't lay it all out here, it's speaking to the curse of covetousness. So what I want to do in this message is go through and deal with this particular commandment, because test the season to be covetous. So it's a very timely and relevant subject as to, well, why is it a curse? What is so wrong with it? Why does God forbid it? So if you want a title, four words, covetousness is a curse. Covetousness is a curse.

You know, I could say the frenzy to get more and more, more and more, has become a national epidemic. But actually, it's a human condition. It's a human epidemic. It's not just isolated exclusively to the United States of America by any means. It's a human epidemic. And you find that in all areas, all levels, from the top down, we might say the elites, all the way down to the grassroots. And we see situations like, well, an attitude's like, well, if you can get it or you can get away with it, hey, man, go for it. Go for it.

One of the gentlemen out there in society today who's trying to do a good work, and it is a good work, is Dave Ramsey. And Peace University and his financial programs where he's trying to help people get on top of their finances, live within their means, live in a way that they can have peace of mind and putting the Prince of Peace first, as he calls Christ, which is a title of Christ. Anyway, Dave Ramsey deals with, in his program, he deals with not just the issues of, quote, spending as far as the actions of spending when you don't have it, etc., etc., to get what you really don't need and really don't have to have, but the root causes that drive that.

And one of his programs is, he talks about how there are so many people who need plastic surgery.

The idea of, take your billfold, take your purse, take your wallet, open it up, pull out all the credit cards, and do plastic surgery. Get the scissors and cut them up. I have actually known people who thought the world was going to end. I haven't known them personally, but I've known of them.

I thought the world was going to end in such and such time, and they were never going to have to pay their debts off. So they went out and bought everything and anything they wanted, ran it up on their credit cards to where it met bankruptcy. But it wasn't going to matter, because everything was going to end. And then one reason that Dave Ramsey says do plastic surgery is because so many people can't control. They don't have enough self-control. They see something. They want it. They think they need it. And they don't have the cash for it, but they do have that plastic credit card.

And they can go ahead and leave with it. Of course, the bill will come in later, and they're still going to have to pay for it. So cut up the cards, per se. Now, I know that in our day and age, you have to have at least one sufficient credit card.

And you have to have that, because you can't do certain rentals. You can't do certain travels and renting cars or whatever. You need a card, but you better have self-control with it. But we live in a society where the name of the game is, get as much as I can. Get as much as I can. Have as much as I can. Oh, he's got that? Oh, I want more. Oh, I'm going to top that. Uh-huh. You know, I reach back, as a number of you do, you take sports.

I reach back at a time when a player came with a team, basketball, football, whatever it was, and there was team loyalty. And that's where they spent their career. They spent their whole career. The vast majority of players spent their whole career with this team. And there was team loyalty, and there was no way the monies at that time, compared with what they do today.

Basic team royalties are going for the most part. Free agency, you take football, they go where the money is. Now, currently, the highest paid quarterback in the NFL is Mahomes, quarterback Mahomes of Kansas City Chiefs. They signed him about a year or so ago. They signed him to a 10-year contract worth $500 million.

That's half a billion. I'm not saying they don't love to play the game, but the money is really big, and how much you can get, and holding out to get more and more. It's just part of the game today. You take covetousness. It has become a major business. It's almost like it's incorporated. It's become such a major business that you could, I think, call it greed incorporated. Like I said, tis the season to be covetous.

To be covetous. To be coveting. To give into covetousness. And you think about it. What is one of the main motivations and drives that's being instilled in children at the most tender, at the youngest and most tender age? It's get, get, get. Is it any wonder that something that just tends to be there natural in our makeup anyhow is just magnified and promoted more and more and shows up more and more as people age?

And why, too, there's so much narcissism in our day and time? See, this element of human nature, carnality, element of human nature, or element of carnality, it is understood, and it is pushed by business and advertisers. I mean, all you've got to do is watch the advertising that goes on, and you can see how they know what they're doing. There are people who go and get degrees for marketing, and part of the degree involves studying psychology, studying how do you get people to do what you want them to do? How do you move them? I remember years ago, I got this envelope in the mail, and supposedly on the outside, you know, the print, before even opening the envelope, it told you, you have won a prize.

And of course, they're wanting to, it's like sweepstakes or whatever. You've won a prize, and if you have a winning number in here and a matching prize, now they made the envelope so that if you held it up to the light just right, you could see through it, and you could see what your number was, and you could see what it matched up with.

And of course, this one, I held it up, and I looked real carefully and, quote, it matched up with a color TV. Well, I knew better. I knew there was a gimmick, and I forget what the gimmick was, but I didn't win any TV. I know that. But you had to, you know, do some kind of action follow-up. But it's interesting how that they use something that comes natural to our own human nature to try and snare us. It's called entrapment in one sense. I mean, that word is used today in especially justice circles. Entrapment. Well, what is entrapment?

It's using your own lust. Think about it. Somebody approaches me in Walmart parking light and says, hey, buddy, say it's an undercover cop. Hey, I got some of that good white stuff you wanted.

What, you got some flour? Sugar? Uh-uh. I got better stuff than that. Well, I'm not interested. Well, man, this is good stuff. Well, I wouldn't know. I've never tried it. I don't have a desire for it. I have no appetite for it. In other words, I can't be entrapped with cocaine or marijuana or any of that stuff because crystal meth. I can't. It just, I have no lust for it. I have no desire for it. You know, to entrap somebody, you basically have to trick them with something that they're wanting.

And that is done, I realize. But see, in our nature, in our natural makeup, there is that proneness to coveting or there wouldn't be a command against it. And those who have studied human behavior and human makeup and human nature, they understand this about getting, coveting, wanting, and they do whatever they can to magnify it because they trust in it. They trust in it as a motivator and as a tool. And I remember one time just traveling and listening to talk radio and problems were being discussed and the host was talking about problems that were facing as a people, as a nation, and as a world. And I actually heard a man on talk radio simply say that, and it's what he said, he said, greed will give us the answers.

Oh, what? Greed will give us the answers. Well, if I'd had a chance to meet that person, do you think I could have convinced him that greed is part of the problem, not part of the answers? And it definitely becomes a snare in more ways than one. Why? Coveting always plants a God between you and the true God because it's called idolatry. That's what coveting is called. It's called idolatry. How so? Look at Colossians 3.5. Oh, what's the harm in this season? What's the harm in what we're doing with little children? Well, what's the harm in it? What's the harm in people practicing greed even? Because, well, as that one guy said, it will give us the answers.

Colossians 3 verse 5, Mortify or kill, therefore, your members which are upon earth. And it just very plainly defines that which you've got to try to do in. In other words, kill. Get rid of. But a stop to it. Destroy it. Get it out of your life and your lifestyle and thinking and all of it. Fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil, concupiscence. And notice, we talk about the Bible defining itself and covetousness, which is what? Idolatry. See, there are a lot of people who have never thought about coveting or covetousness as being idolatrous or idolatry. They said coveting always plants a God between you and the true God. That's why it is called idolatry. That's what makes it idolatry. Coveting causes something to come to mean more to you than God or that is more to you than His ways or His principles. Now, I would follow up with that with Matthew 6, 21. Matthew 6 and verse 21.

Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount made this absolutely dead-on statement about human behavior, human affection, what a human will adhere to and tie to, and what will move and motivate a human. Matthew 6, 21, He says, For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. What you treasure, what you make your treasure, that's what will own your heart.

Coveting causes something to come to mean more to you than God or His ways or principles. What you make your treasure will capture your heart. It becomes a God to you instead of the real God. I covet that. I want that. I must have that. That is so important to me. I treasure that. I value that. That's what's precious to me, and I've got to have that. And if God or His ways or His principles are a casualty in the process, so be it. That's what coveting and covetousness can do. I said covetousness is a curse, and it is. It is a curse. Coveting, when you look at the condition of America today with broken home after broken home, with misery after misery of pains and sufferings and emptinesses. And it's like one lady told me one time she needed a job.

She was given a job where it involved having to deal with seeing what's happening in the fabric of our society, and she told me, Mr. Beame, I'm not sure I can do this job. She said, I knew it was bad out here, but she said, I didn't realize how bad it was and what is happening under the covers. I'm just not sure I can, I've got the emotional ability to deal with this, handle this, just being aware of it. And she was in a position where she was clerking or filing more than she was having to actually process situations. Coveting, a covetous society, is an idolatrous society. Now, something that you and I learned to practice as begotten children of God is to always remember that God's perspective...see, we may be seeing from our limited perspective, it's kind of like we may have come into the movie halfway through and trying to figure out the beginning of what's going on, but God's perspective is complete and comprehensive. God's perspective never breaks in at the middle of things. He always sees from square one forward because He was there as square one. The square one, ground zero, whatever, of whatever you want to talk about, He was there from the point of beginning, period. He has a complete and thorough overview from the very beginning. Notice with me Ezekiel 28 verse 16. Ezekiel 28 and verse 16. There's an interesting word here. When he's talking about this super angel that God created who was perfect in His ways until the day that iniquity was found in Him, as it says in verse 15. There's a statement made that raises a question. Verse 16, by the multitude of your merchandise, by the multitude, the multitude, the magnitude, the magnification of your merchandise, they have filled the midst of you with violence and you have sinned. Therefore, I will cast you as profane out of the mouth and of God and I will destroy you, O covering carob from the midst of the stones of fire. Multitude of your merchandise? We don't know a whole lot about the angelic world.

I mean, we know sufficiently what we need to, yes. But there's a lot that we don't know about.

But He didn't say, by your merchandise they have filled you, by the multitude. I talked about a frenzy in our day and age. There seems to be a frenzy so many times just to continually get more and more and more. And of course, we promote that more than any other time of the year. We promote that at this time of the year, by the particular season we're in. And there's one thing about covetousness. It feeds covetousness. It feeds covetousness. You don't get rid of covetousness by feeding it. You have to start countering it to diminish it. Now, the multitude of your merchandise, what Lucifer was doing, and the activities that he got going with the angels, or at least a third of the angels. We know he only succeeded with a third of the angels. But what did he get them caught up in? And if you want to talk about covetous, was covetousness part of the problem? And maybe central and major to the problem? The multitude of your merchandise? And again, how many people today, no matter what they have, they want more? How many are there?

I've got plenty, but no, it's not plenty. I've got to have more. I've got to have a bigger car, bigger house, bigger this, bigger that, more of that, more of this, more of that. You know, it's my lifestyle. I've got to have more, more, more, more. Multitude. And wonder, it's interesting. Isaiah 14. Isaiah 14.

I mean, did Lucifer have a problem with coveting?

Obviously so. It states it right here in Isaiah 14.

And verses 13 and 14, For you have said in your heart, I will ascend unto the heaven, I will exalt my throne. Now he had a throne. God had given him a throne. It wasn't enough.

I need more power. I need more power than this throne. I need the biggie. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit upon the mount of the congregation and the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. And I will be, be better rendered, I will be the Most High. He coveted God's throne. And it didn't just get him blasted out of there, but in due time, the throne he was given is going to be taken away from him in due time. Second Timothy 3, 2. Second Timothy chapter 3 and verse 2.

For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous. Think about that. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous.

Lovers of their own selves, covetous. They're put together because the two go naturally together. The two go naturally together. Here in verse 4, 2 Timothy verse 4. Traitors, heady, high-minded. And notice this line, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.

Think about this. Lovers of pleasures, they love their pleasures more than they love God. Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. Their pleasures become their God.

Their pleasures, which they treasure, have become their God. That's idolatry.

That's idolatry. You might keep your finger here. I'm going to come right back. But I'm going to flip back to Psalm 10 and verse 3. Psalm 10 and verse 3.

Psalm 10 and verse 3 says this, For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire, and blesses the covetous, whom the Lord abhors. God abhors the covetous. Because they're idolaters. They're involved in idolatry. It's something that... something or several something that come before He does.

Anyway, for the wicked boasts of his heart's desire, and blesses the covetous, whom the Lord abhors.

This actually blesses the covetous. If you have a margin, it'll show how the Hebrew also could be translated. The covetous blesses Himself. He abhors the Lord. That's interesting. The covetous... it could have been rendered. The covetous blesses Himself. He abhors the Lord.

Really makes sense, again, with the statement, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.

Blesses Himself, not God. Okay, 2 Timothy 3 verse 1. Perilous time shall come. And I've said, you know, it's not that verse 1, perilous times, it's not that perilous times produce the conditions that follow. The conditions that follow in verses 2 through 5, that's what makes the times perilous. And then, perilous times, the conditions that make perilous times, becomes a downward spiral. It feeds on itself. Covetousness, as much as anything, helps produce the conditions of perilous times because, first and foremost, you look out for yourself and what you want. Boo hoo hoo. Jezebel, I'm so sad. You see my crocodile tears, I'm down. Why, Ahab? When Naboth over there, I want his vineyard, but he's laying claim to the law of God that the inheritance is supposed to stay in the family. Well, Ahab, you spineless weakling you, you're king. Just get a couple of witnesses to testify that he's done something worthy of death. We can get him out of there, and his property, which you covet, you can have it. And so Ahab did. Naboth was history until the general resurrection.

You look out for yourself and what you want. Good old number one gets taken care of, regardless as to what it may cost others. So you think about it, Lucifer's covetousness because that was as much heart and core in it as anything. His covetousness produced universal perilous times. The heavens out there according to Scripture are not clean.

There's contamination due to Lucifer.

Universal perilous times. Covetousness, greed, produced universal perilous times. It caused Lucifer and one-third of the angels their eternal happiness and well-being. Think about that for a moment. There was a time when Lucifer and all the angels, he talks about in Job how the morning stars all sang for joy and all the sons of God. There was a time when there was happiness and well-being throughout the universe. But Lucifer's covetousness and greed, and we could just simply say covetousness and greed cost Lucifer and a third of the angels their eternal happiness and well-being. In the state they were once in, they'll never be in again. One of them, one of those fallen angels, one of those demons said, it said, there is no coming back, never for all eternity. Those are the words of one demon. There is no coming back, never for all eternity. They cannot, will not, and cannot return to the state of happiness and well-being, peace and harmony that there once was. That's forever gone because of their corruption.

That came as much as anything from covetousness, from coveting.

There is a particular little monkey. I forget the name of it. A little monkey that is trapped so simply and so easily. When they want to trap these monkeys, all they have to do is take an auger, go out to the habitat of these little monkeys, and drill a hole into a tree with the auger.

When they drill this hole into the trunk of the tree, they will go in just so deep, don't have to go very deep at all, and they will hollow it out just a little bit inside at the end of that tunnel. Then they'll put some little shiny piece of maybe tin foil or a peanut. It doesn't matter what it is in that little tunnel at the back, in that slightly hollowed out place. The little monkey will come along, curious as they are, and it will look in the hole. It will see either that peanut or shiny piece of tin foil, whatever it may be, and it will reach its hand in because the hole is drilled just, augered out just the size that it can put its hand, its open hand, in the hole. It will put its hand in there, and it will grab and close its fist up around the object. Now it can't get out. It can't get out. It's caught because the fist will not fit in the tunnel, only an open hand.

The dumb little critter is so greedy of what it's got a hold of, it will not open its hand and turn it loose so it can be free. And here come the trappers, here come the ones with the nets and all to capture it, and it will dance all around that hole and scream and carry on. Its greed traps it.

It will not turn loose, and that's all it's got to do. It could turn it loose, pull its hand, go up the tree, and it's safe. It will not turn loose. Coveting whatever it is in there, if it's a trinket, its greed is what traps it. You know, a big lesson from that is greed and covetousness can make a monkey out of us.

If we let it! Proverbs 1.19 Proverbs 1.19 Proverbs 2.19 It says, So are the ways of everyone that is greedy of gain. Now, we have always encouraged our campers to really study the book of Proverbs on a regular basis because it's a book of wisdom, and it'll make you a much, much wiser person at whatever age you read it and study it. But it's sure good to help get a good head start on life by making it a regular book that you read, think on, meditate on, and study. So are the ways of everyone that is greedy of gain, which takes away the life of the owners thereof. The little monkey that won't turn loose, that gets caught. I don't know what all they use them for. Maybe some of them become part of the medical experiments, medical trials.

But greedy of gain, and when we say takes away the life of the owners thereof, it doesn't necessarily mean kills them. It doesn't necessarily mean that it'll cost them their lives, although there are more than enough examples in history of those greedy of gain, how it has cost them their lives literally. But it takes away the quality of life. It takes away the true quality. It takes away the peace of mind and all of that. Proverbs 15, 27. Proverbs 15, 27.

Proverbs 15, 27 says, "...he that is greedy of gain troubles his own house." Honey, what is sitting in the driveway? Well, that's a brand new truck. Well, what was wrong with the one that you had that we had paid for? Well, I just kind of got tired of it, and you know, I got that promotion at work, and I'm more important now, and I just thought I needed to drive a brand new truck. Well, you know we can't afford it. What are we now going to do about the braces that we've got to pay for for our child's teeth? How are we going to finance this over here? We've got this debt hanging over us over here that's already been turned over to debt collectors. What are we going to do? Well, we'll figure something out. "'He that is greedy of gain, covetous, troubles his own house.'" Interesting and sad.

Greedy of gain troubles his own house. Lock that phrase into your mind for a moment. Greedy of gain troubles his own house. And go with me to Genesis 13.

Genesis 13, greedy of gain troubles his own house. Genesis 13, beginning verse 5, verse 5, I pray you between me and you and between our herdsmen because we're brethren. We're kenfolk.

Uncle and nephew, is not the whole land before you? You separate, I pray, you from me. If you will take the left hand, if you go left, I'll go right. If you go right, well, I'll go left. I'm giving you the choice. You choose, Lot. You pick. I'm giving you first choice.

Lot lifted up his eyes, verse 10. You think about it.

Greedy of gain troubles his own house. And things don't always play out in an hour, or a day, or a week, or a month, or a year. Sometimes it's decades. Lot lifted up his eyes, and he beheld all the plain of Jordan. It was well watered everywhere.

That is, before the Lord destroyed Solomon Gomorrah.

It was well watered everywhere, even as the Garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. There it goeshen, and along the Nile River, and then it goeshen, and all of that.

Then Lot, well watered. Hey, making a living down there will not only be a whole lot easier than up here, but there's a lot more opportunity for increase of herds and flocks, and all of that. It's a better life. It's going to be easier. More material things. All of that.

He chose all... Remember, not everybody you read about in the Bible, when you first read about them, so to speak, is converted. Jacob wasn't. Lot wasn't. It takes time. It takes lessons. It takes learnings. And they separated themselves, the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

Greedy who gained troubles in his own house, there's a price to pay.

Verse 13, "...that the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly." And remember, when the time came, Lot... And he learned a lot over the years.

Time went on. But guess what? There was a price to pay. And was it worth all the material, extras, and all of that, and the ease? Because when he left Sodom and Gomorrah in that area, he left daughters, and he left sons-in-laws, and he left grandkids behind that had gotten absorbed into that corrupt society. And he only left with his wife and his two unmarried daughters. And his wife looked back, and of course she became a pillar of salt. So now it was what he had gone down there with, what he had gone down there with, he left only with himself and two unmarried daughters. They got absorbed into those corruptions enough they didn't want to leave. See, covetousness desensitizes.

Along the road, the country road that I grew up on, there was a neighbor about a mile from us.

His health was really bad, but he supplemented his income with some trapping. He died the day of his funeral in a little cemetery not too far from where he lived, but the day of his funeral because it was widely known that he had died. And when his funeral was, at the time that his funeral was going on, someone broke into his shed, stole his traps, stole his skins, stole his furs, stole his equipment while he was being buried.

Covetousness desensitizes. We live in a day and a time when people are very, very sensitive to what they want and very insensitive to what others need. Remember again in 2 Timothy 3, lovers of self, lovers of pleasure.

What is covetousness? Well, in one sense, it's anordinate desire. It's excessive desire.

It's illegal desire. It's unlawful desire. And we could say, okay, it's rot of the mind.

It's rot of the spirit. It's ruin of the character. And again, in the words of that fallen angel, there's no going back. Never. For all eternity, they're ruined. They ruin themselves. And since they're of spirit, they are corrupted beings who cannot, will not, and cannot come out of that corruption. And covetousness can become a consuming fire in the fiber. And it all leads to the tyranny of things. Now again, we know things are not wrong. Abraham had a lot of things. He was rich. Job had a lot of things. He was rich. Solomon didn't ask for riches. God was pleased with Solomon that he asked for wisdom. And God said, but I will give you riches. And the riches were not Solomon's problem. And riches never became Abraham's problem. And riches were not Job's problem. So things are not wrong. That's not the issue. But things don't make happy. But the person that's motivated that way never seems to realize that. If I can just get this or that, well, happiness and satisfaction, it's going to be in reach. If I can just get more of such and such, then I'll really be happy.

Well, here is a diehard principle in Ecclesiastes 5 and 10.

And it's written by inspiration of God through one who really put a lot of thought and time into figuring a lot of things out.

Ecclesiastes 5 and verse 10, in answer to, well, if I can just get more of such and such, I'll be happy. If I can just get more of that, that'll be sufficient. He that loves silver, and there's a principle here. Ecclesiastes 5 and 10.

He that loves silver, who's in love with silver, like Scrooge sitting there counting his money, whatever. He that loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver, because it won't matter how much silver you get. You have a love of silver, so no matter how much silver you get, you've got to have more. You've got to have more. You've got to have more.

Nor he that loves abundance with increase.

He that loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loves abundance with increase is not going to be satisfied either. It's like the guy with the big barn that's full. Oh, I'll build a bigger barn, and I can then fill a bigger barn. Well, what would happen when he got the bigger barn built and filled it? Well, I'll fill another one. And you know the account where Christ said, your life will be required of you this night. But this is something. Look, folks, and I'm not alone in this by myself. You are in it, too. We have all. We live in a society where we see these things played out in front of our eyes around us. It happens around us all the time.

And God has given you and me deliverance from that to the degree we want deliverance from these things that drive people. We're learning God's way of living. We're learning God's way of life. And we're learning about the peace and the joy and the happiness that comes from doing it God's way.

See, Satan was not, Lucifer was not satisfied with the throne he was given. He was not satisfied with the powers and responsibilities that were given him. And because he was not happy with it, and he started coveting, I mean, that was part of his sin, yes, he turned himself from Lucifer, light-bringer, into Satan, adversary to God. See, if one's eyes are constantly upon getting more and more, it keeps the person from appreciating and enjoying what they do have. It'll make a person dissatisfied with it. And what happens as part of that when you begin to be dissatisfied with what you have and not appreciate what you do have, the joy starts flying away. You start losing the joy. You lose satisfaction. You lose thankfulness. You lose thankfulness. Thankfulness is so important to keep tied to the things that connected to the things that we've been blessed with. See, one who wants to have more and more, we can just say it's a reality that that person never will be able to have all they want or could want. And we have to learn to live with that, that if we don't, guess what? If we don't learn to live properly, things own us, the tyranny of things. And how many people today are owned by their things? A lot of folks. A lot of folks. I remember many years ago, the words of an old black gentleman, they stayed with me. An old black gentleman many years ago, he didn't have much, he said this, quote, some men ain't got much and don't need no more. Others got everything and it ain't enough. That's worth repeating. Some men ain't got much and don't need no more. Others got everything and it ain't enough. And more, it's a very true statement. And more importantly, I remember the words of God, Hebrews 13.5. Hebrews 13 and verse 5. It says conversation in the King James, it means conduct, which includes everything from words to actions. Let your conduct, or frankly, your way of living, your lifestyle, be, and that's in italics, you could put in be or you could put in become. Let your lifestyle, your way of living, be or become without covetousness. Because you're just, you're at peace without covetousness and with thankfulness, you're at peace. You don't have the right of spirit and be content with such things as you have. It's very, very important. You know, I often think about how Paul made the statement, I'm not going to turn back to it, but in Philippians 4.11, Paul made the statement to the Philippians in chapter 4 verse 11 that in what sort of state he found himself to be content. And, you know, he had learned obviously the value of that.

I'm sure in so many ways far more than we probably will ever learn it in this life as far as through hard experience. But this 10th commandment is so important because God is getting ready to stock his kingdom. Because in a sense, that's what he's doing when he sends Christ back.

There's going to be a resurrection that takes place, and the readiness for that resurrection doesn't take place on that day. The readiness for that resurrection has to take place between now and the time I go to the grave, or between now and the time Jesus Christ returns. Whether it's going to the grave or I'm still alive when Christ returns, the readiness takes place between now and one of those two points. He's getting ready to stock his kingdom, and he's only going to do it with those who have learned certain lessons. And one of those lessons is this, Luke 12.15.

This is one of the most crucial lessons that you and I can ever learn in this life. In fact, it's indispensable. This lesson that's mentioned in Luke 12.15, it's not optional.

You and I have to learn this lesson and learn to live by this lesson. Luke 12, verse 15. And he said to them, Take heed, beware of, kind of sounds like take heed, beware of, what you therefore always and pray that you may be worthy. And the watching starts with being vigilant to yourself. And he said unto them, Take heed and beware of covetousness, be on guard against covetousness. Why? For, or as a synonym which can be substituted in for this word, depending on the context, for or because a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.

Consist not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.

So beware of covetousness.

Ephesians 5.5. Ephesians 5.5.

And verse 5. And verse 6. God is getting ready to stock his kingdom.

Ephesians 5.5. For this you know that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater. Once again, you've got coveting and idolatry put together.

Covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

It's interesting that Judas was a type, a type. I don't have any doubt in my mind, I covered this in a previous sermon, that I'll see Judas in the general resurrection. But he was a type of one who lost his place. He lost his apostleship, he lost his place, why? He was a thief. He was the treasurer, he was the thief, he coveted. He coveted money, he coveted silver, he sold Christ out, remember? He was a type and he lost his place.

And a covetous person, who is an idolater, obviously, will lose their place. See, God's government will not be placed in the hands of covetous. I won't turn back to these scriptures, I'll just simply say, with these three scriptures, if you want to write them down, in Luke 16 and verse 14, Christ notated a core problem with the Pharisees. He said they were covetous. That was a core problem with the Pharisees, they were covetous.

When Jethro told Moses, Moses, you're going to wear yourself out and the people, you need help, you need to delegate. He gave good counsel to Moses, and Moses listened. And you find that with the appointments of those who would help him to judge and properly administer, and again, I won't turn back to the scripture, but in Exodus 18 and verse 21, Exodus 18 and verse 21, it talks about capable men. And one of the things that mentions that makes them able and capable is, and this is quoted from there, hating covetousness. Hating covetousness. Because otherwise, their judgment can be bribed and biased and prejudiced. And we've got so much government today in all levels that are filled, sadly, with covetous people. That's part of what's wrong.

Hating covetousness. And Timothy was told by Paul that when considering to ordain someone, and this is in 1 Timothy 3.3, not covetous. Not covetous. I can simply say this. When we talk about kings and priests, Revelation 5.10, there won't be a covetous man or woman in the whole group. We're being vetted now. We're being made ready now. And again, I go back and make the point to be clear. Abraham was rich. The riches weren't a problem. Solomon was rich. That wasn't his problem. Job had riches. That wasn't his problem. Abraham was not covetous. Solomon was not covetous as such. I mean, more than what's in the nature that you've got to fight and work on, yes. Job was not covetous, per se. That was not the problem. As we live and apply the principles of God. God wants us to enjoy what He gives us. And He wants us to learn to be content to have our increase, to have our increase, our additional, whatever it may be that's good and right and proper, that are gained the proper way, at the proper time, with proper wisdom, proper application of doing it His way, and with proper thankfulness and gratefulness, and guarding against ever letting any of it get us caught up in covetousness because covetousness is a curse. And those who get caught up in it are bringing curses upon themselves. And some are very easily seen, and some are more subtle, and they don't see, aren't seen right away. Some are realized almost immediately, and some aren't realized until maybe decades down the way, per se. But it doesn't ever change the reality that no matter if you're talking about angels or humans or whatever, covetousness is always a curse.