This document contrasts covetousness and contentment. It defines covetousness as a sinful longing for what others have that is forbidden by the 10th commandment. Covetousness stems from pride and leads to idolatry by making material possessions or status the focus rather than God. Contentment, on the other hand, is finding satisfaction in what God has provided through trusting in His care and provision. The document provides numerous Bible verses condemning covetousness and promoting contentment.

1. Covetousness and Contentment
All NKJV unless otherwise specified
Covetousness
Covet – various descriptions in scripture (ex Strong’s Concordance) - wish for; greatly desire; lust after; greedy; delight in;
delectable thing; lust; to set heart upon; forbidden desire; envy; be jealous; reach out after; eager for gain
Covetousness is forbidden
Exodus 20v17 17
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant,
nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
The thought and desires of the heart do not escape attention in the 10 commandments. The strong longing to have what
another has is wrong. This 10th
commandment suggests that none of the previous 9 commandments are only external acts with
no relation to internal thoughts. Covetousness is rooted in pride.
Matthew 15v19 19
“For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemies.
These evil thoughts, which include covetousness, are exceedingly wicked in the sight of God, and all proceed from the heart
of man.
Jeremiah 17v9 9
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
Covetousness will damn the Soul
Ephesians 5v3-5 3
But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for
saints; 4
neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5
For this you
know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of
Christ and God.
1 Timothy 6v9-11 9
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts
which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have
strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
11
But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.
Covetousness is Idolatry
Colossians 3v2-6 2
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3
For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ
in God. 4
When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 5
Therefore put to death your
members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6
Because
of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,
People fall into the sin of covetousness when they experience restlessness in their souls. These people are wanting something
bigger, better, more expensive, prettier, more status or recognition. Lets use a couple of examples to illustrate:
a) You see someone driving a better car than you, and you envy this person and lust after having a better car for yourself;
b) Someone gets a promotion, and your first gut feel is envy or jealousy, or maybe even disguised as “they don’t deserve it”;
c) You are married, and see another person of the opposite sex, and have a desire for that person, and you think “If only I
could marry that person”, or “I wonder what my life would be like having rather married that person”.
d) Dissatisfaction with what you already have - in essence you are not satisfied with the blessings God has given you
already.
e) You have an eagerness to be used in the ministry, and this becomes your focus instead of God being your focus. In
essence this is rooted in pride and is rooted in seeking recognition from man.
f) You are willing to compromise moral standards or the law of God to make personal gains “I know there are ethical
standards being violated by this business deal, but the payoff for me is lucrative.”
In the few examples above, we can see that the person concerned has set up an idol in his/her heart.

2. Covetousness Breeds the following:
1) Greed and Murder – Jeremiah 22v17 17
“Yet your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness, For
shedding innocent blood, And practicing oppression and violence.” We can see that this is present in South Africa at the
moment, where the poor and oppressed have coveted what the “rich” have, and have turned to crime and violence in order
to get it.
2) Poverty and Rebellion – Proverbs 11v24,28 24
There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who
withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. 28
He who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will
flourish like foliage.
3) Oppression and Violence – Micah 2v2-3 2
They covet fields and take them by violence, Also houses, and seize them. So
they oppress a man and his house, A man and his inheritance. 3
Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, against this family
I am devising disaster, From which you cannot remove your necks; Nor shall you walk haughtily, For this is an evil time.
4) Denial of God – Proverbs 30 v8-9 8
Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches—Feed
me with the food allotted to me; 9
Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the LORD?” Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.
5) Injustice – Isaiah 1v23 23
Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows
after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.
6) Backsliding – Micah 3v11 11
Her heads judge for a bribe, Her priests teach for pay, And her prophets divine for money.
Yet they lean on the LORD, and say, “Is not the LORD among us? No harm can come upon us.” See also 1 Timothy 6v9-11
above.
7) Deception – Matthew 13v22 22
“Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of
this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
8) Defilement – Matthew 7v21-23 21
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he
who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22
“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in
Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23
“And then I will declare to them, ‘I
never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Many covet His gifts for selfish or self serving reasons,
not out of love for Jesus and His people. This is but one way that covetousness has crept into the church. We have
allowed, and in some cases even encouraged, an inordinate desire for power or ministry. This is sin.
9) Temptations and Lust – 1 John 2v15-17 15
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father is not in him. 16
For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17
And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will
of God abides forever.
10) A short life and a fool’s end – Luke 12 v16-21 16
Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich
man yielded plentifully. 17
“And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my
crops?’ 18
“So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and
my goods. 19
‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat,
drink, and be merry.” ’ 20
“But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will
those things be which you have provided?’ 21
“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

3. Contentment
Content - various descriptions in scripture (ex Strong’s Concordance) - to breathe after (not striving against God’s will, but
resting in His will) rest; willing; yield; undertake as an act of volition; to hear intelligently; obedience; listening (knowing
God’s will and living in His will make surrounding adverse circumstances irrelevant); be sufficient; satisfactory; self-
complacent (selfless); to be safe.
Hebrews 13v5 5
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has
said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Take a moment just to read the above scripture again. God says He will never forsake us. If we believe this, the peace of God
should flood our souls, and this brings us to a place of contentment in Him.
Contentment and covetousness are opposite forces. Contentment moves us away from idolatry and closer to the heart of God,
while covetousness distances us from God and drives us to the altars of idolatry.
Philippians 4v11 11
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12
I know how to
be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to
abound and to suffer need. 13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Paul learnt contentment – but this contentment was rooted in Christ who strengthened him. Compare this to covetousness
which was rooted in pride.
Isaiah 30v15 15
For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and
confidence shall be your strength.”
Philippians 4v19 19
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
We are perpetually assaulted by family, peers, advertising, media, and other avenues that tell us what we lack to achieve this
world’s fulfillment. If yielded to, this pressure will produce lofty ambitions and selfish, competitive goals. By focusing on
these goals and ambitions, discontentment is sown. Only when we align ourselves to God’s will, will we enter the grace of
contentment.
Proverbs 15v16
16
Better is a little with the fear of the LORD, Than great treasure with trouble.
1 Timothy 6 v6-8
6
Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is
certain we can carry nothing out. 8
And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
Paul learnt contentment (Phil 4v11 above), and it is wise for us to do the same. Search your hearts to uproot all forms of
covetousness. Choose to be content with what you have and what God has given you. And even if this was to be taken away
from you, choose to remain content. God sees the big picture. Even though you may not understand the circumstances you are
in, God has not forgotten you, and nor will He leave or forsake you. God may have a very good purpose in allowing you to go
through these experiences. These experiences build us up and build resilience if we yield to God’s will in obedience. Others
may benefit from your trials.
James 1 v2-4
2
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3
knowing that the testing of your faith
produces patience. 4
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.