“Covetousness, or the desire to have more than one has (not necessarily through envy of somebody else) not only leads to strife but also expresses a fundamentally wrong philosophy of life, according to which possessions are all that really matter.”
I. Howard Marshall in New Bible Commentary, Revised: Luke (London: IVP, 1970) 908.
Our society has been built on covetousness. Billboard’s tell us that happiness is found in having things. I appreciate how Marshall spells out that such thinking only leads to strife. Want release from strife? I suggest you take the opposite approach. Give something away.
I am officiating my niece’s wedding today, Jamie Hoag, in St. Louis. In one of our pre-marital counseling sessions I reminded Jamie and Ryan that even as life is more than possessions, marriage is more than money. Teaching them that was a helpful reminder for me.
If you want to grow in generosity, teach someone to avoid covetousness. Warn them that it leads to strife, and encourage them instead to develop patterns of giving and sharing.