And [Jesus] said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15
“But now, leaving ancient history, let us interrogate the experience of daily life, and learn what sort of a creature it recognizes in covetousness, and how hard it is to get rid of; for whomsoever it seizes, ever waxing but never waning, it grows old with its victims and abides with them to the end.
The lustful and the lover of his body, even if he be for a long time mad in his desires, when he becomes old, or sees the object of his affection, his body, now aged and the bloom departed, finds that there is a limit to his disorder. The glutton himself withdraws from his indulgence when surfeited, or when his digestive organs become weak, and their intense desire for food is gone. The ambitious man after having attained great notoriety ceases to desire to show himself off.
But the disease of covetousness is an evil hard to rid one’s self of. And just as this ivy, the plant flourishing and ever green, creeping up the trees that grow near, coils tight about the trunks wherever it touches and even if they suffer harm or wither, it does not die, unless some one with an axe severs its serpent-like coils so it is not easy to free the soul from covetousness, whether the body be youthful or beginning to grow old, unless some sober consideration enter in and like a knife cut off the disease.”
Asterius of Amasea (350-410) in his sermon, “Against Coveteousness.”
Coveteousness rears it’s ugly head in many ways. This post gives me much to ponder as I fly to Cleveland, Ohio, today to see family and honor the memory of my aunt and uncle who passed away back in December 2021.
Similar to the lustful, the gluttonous, and the ambitious persons in this sermon by Asterius, we say at GTP in Journey of Empowerment that people pursue possessions (lustful), pleasures (glutton), and power (ambitious).
So whilst times have changed, the traps remain the same that the evil one uses to enslave us and limit our generosity. We must identify and avoid them. But how?
Whatever possessions we are drawn to reveals our idols. Whatever pleasures we pursue reveal our heart’s desires. And whatever power we seek reveals our fears. We must do away with idols, make Christ our sole desire, and not allow fears to guide our decision making.
It’s getting on Spring in USA. Might it be time to weed out the ivy of coveteousness in any of these three areas? Sit with Jesus, follow the leading of the Spirit, trust the Father to care for you.