I WANT MORE! GIVE ME MORE! Everywhere we look, there are allurements telling us we need this or that. It’s a must-have. It’s something we cannot live without, even if we cannot afford it. It’s on billboards, television, and social media; you name it! But there is a danger in always wanting more. How do we avoid getting into this fix, and if we are in it, how do we get out of it?
In our previous lessons, we talked about how to be successful with money by wisely managing the resources God has given us. We agree that to be successful at managing money and possession God has given us, we must put God first God in our finances and in all that we do.
Now we will look at something that is a serious matter – covetousness. Covetousness is when we are never satisfied with what we have and are always wanting more.
It can take us into dangerous territory. What is the danger of covetousness?
We’re going to look at the dangers of covetousness and its potential to lead us down a path to destruction.
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Inviting God’s Presence
Holy Father, help us to overcome the continual desire for more. Help us to surrender ourselves to You. Strengthen us to resist temptation and be content with what You provide us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Covetousness is the nagging selfish desire that has led many a soul done the evil path of killing, stealing, and robbing to obtain more. We, too, may struggle with covetousness, the desire for more, whether it is money, power, relationship, or some other thing. (Split)
Just how do we manage these evil desires?
Judas’s story is one of the most tragic stories in the Bible on covetousness. He, along with 12 others was given the special privilege of continuously being with Jesus during His work on earth. Jesus was his Master Mentor and Master Teacher for three and a half years. From Jesus himself, Judas as well as the other followers of Jesus learned about Him and His teaching.
Judas was taught by the Master Teacher. From Him, he learned eternal trues. What’s interesting is that many people who have learned far less than Judas will be saved. But, for Judas, who received so much, because he desired more, it caused him to lose his privilege of being with Jesus eternally in His Heavenly Kingdom.
What was Judas’ problem? One word, covetousness, the desires of his heart. The desires of his heart led him to steal. His desire for power and wealth led him to betray his Master Teacher.
Though Judas had some bad qualities, he had the potential to master them. Listen to what it says in the Book Counsels on Stewardship about Judas:
Judas had valuable qualities, but there were some traits in his character that would have to be cut away before he could be saved. He must be born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible.
His great hereditary and cultivated tendency to evil was covetousness. And by practice, this became a habit which he carried into all his trading. . . .
He was given every opportunity to receive Christ as his personal Saviour, but he refused this gift. He would not yield his way and will to Christ. He did not practice that which was contrary to his own inclinations; therefore his strong covetous spirit was not corrected. While he continued to be a disciple in outward form, and while in the very presence of Christ, Judas appropriated to himself means that belonged to the Lord’s treasury.
Judas might have been benefited by these lessons, had he possessed a desire to be right at heart; but his greed overcame him, and the love of money became a ruling power. Through indulgence, he permitted this trait in his character to grow and take so deep a root that it crowded out the good seed of truth sown in his heart.—Counsels on Stewardship, pp. 219, 220.
An example of the heart of Judas is found in John 12:1–8. It tells of an incident in which Mary gained everyone’s attention at a feast. Notice how Judas reacts and Jesus’s response.
1 Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
2 So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him.
3 Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?”
6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.
7 Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.
8 For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.” (John 12:1-8 NASB)
How did Jesus respond to Judas?
Jesus gently rebuked Judas for his covetous remarks.
How did Judas respond to Jesus’ rebuke?
He got upset and left the feast. He then went directly to the palace of the high priest, the top spiritual leader for the Jews at that time. This palace was where Jesus’ enemies were gathered. There according to Matthew 26:14-16, Judas offered to sell Jesus into their hands for a smaller sum of money than Mary’s gift to him.
14 Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests
15 and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him
16 From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus. (Matthew 26:14–16 NASB)
You may ask, “What happened to Judas? God gave him so many wonderful opportunities. He had many rare privileges; why would Judas do something so evil as betraying Jesus, his Master Teacher?
Here is what the Book Desire of Ages says about Judas: Judas “loved the Great Teacher, and desired to be with Him. He felt a desire to be changed in character and life, and he hoped to experience this by connecting himself with Jesus.
The Saviour did not repulse Judas. He gave him a place among the twelve. He trusted him to do the work of an evangelist. He endowed him with power to heal the sick and to cast out devils. But Judas did not come to the point of surrendering himself fully to Christ.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 716.
The point is we all have character defects. However, when we surrender our lives to Jesus, we can overcome them through the power of God working in us. We do not have the power to win this war against our tendencies to do evil on our own. We need God’s help! We need his power! He will help us win this war against sin.
But the problem with Judas was he was not willing to fully surrender himself and his heart of covetousness to Jesus.
Consequently, Judas lost the fight against sin, which he could have overcome had he fully surrendered to Jesus. But instead, his sin overcame him, and he had a tragic end.
The fact of the matter is we, in some form or the other, struggle with the sin of covetousness, whether we are willing to admit it or not. In Judas’ case, he wanted money. He coveted money! He had a “heart” problem. His heart problem caused Him to even steal. This we discover in John 12:6 when he was complaining about the gift that Mary gave to Jesus.
6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. (John 12:6 NASB)
Judas’s story is a tragic one about the dangers of covetousness! But it is a lesson for us all.
What may look like a small thing, a simple desire of the heart can lead to disaster and eternal loss.
So far, we have talked about the covetousness of individuals, but what happens when two people, a husband and wife team, agree to do something good but on the other end, conspire to perform a dishonest act? Find out Day 5: Ananias and Sapphira
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