The Word for the Day is Covet (or Gee, What A Nice Ox You Have)

"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. " - Proverbs 14:30 (NIV)

Coveting. We've all been there. And it's not a good thing. The Bible warns against coveting a lot of stuff. For example, your neighbor's house (easy for me - we live in a townhouse, my neighbor's homes all look like mine). Your neighbor's wife, servants, ox and donkey. (I have no use for an ox or donkey, nor any room to store them.) Don't covet false idols, or even the precious metals they are made of. Don't covet anyone's fields or silver or clothing or finery. In Romans 13:9, Paul reduces Exodus 20:17 down to three simple words: "Do not covet."

So what exactly is coveting? Basically, it is the step beyond admiration. It is "the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does" (1 John 2:16, NIV). It's when "that's a nice bike you have" becomes "I just gotta have that bike! Or one just like it! Or one even better!!"

Coveting leads to a lot of bad places: envy, lust, general unhappiness with one's station in life. Coveting goes beyond mere real estate, spouses, precious metals and oxen. We can covet someone else's position. Do you remember the TV show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous? Would anyone have ever watched that show had it been about Joe Average and his ordinary family, living in their three-bedroom rambler on Maple Avenue? (Perhaps... if someone in a two-bedroom house were really coveting a three-bedroom rambler.)

Coveting is just bad news. Remember that God blesses all of us, and to some He gives certain gifts He doesn't bestow on others. While we are not all equally gifted (meaning what he gives to you may not be what he gives to me, and vice versa), we are each uniquely gifted, which is much more meaningful. Likewise we are also not all equally burdened. (Look at the Hollywood starlets whose antics fill our news. They look fabulous, they live in fabulous homes, they drive fabulous cars, their dogs have fabulous collars... but would you honestly, for one minute, want their troubles?)

When we are striving for a particular career, it is easy to covet those who have already "succeeded." When we can't afford what the Joneses have, we feel cruddy about what we "possess." However, God has a plan for each of us. The career heights we hope to achieve may not be in God's plan (or perhaps just not yet). And it just may be that the Joneses really can't afford all that nice stuff they have, either. As Paul wrote, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:11-13, NIV).

The stuff of this world - possessions, status, oxen - is all temporary. The one thing that lasts is God. When we have Jesus, what else matters? "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs" (1 Timothy 6:6-10, NIV).

'Nuff said.

By the way... that sure is a nice ox you have.