Covetousness = idolatry

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. – Colossians 3v5

I don’t think any of us would have any problem condemning idol worship. We look at all the religions around the world and see how many of them worship idols and statues. We often even say that those who use images, statues, and icons as prayer reminders are guilty of idolatry without really knowing their hearts. It is a sin that we rightly condemn and rightly so. It is a sin that we should be so careful of that we don’t give even the impression that we are worshipping idols because then we are putting physical things before God.

There is however, an idolatry that doesn’t usually merit our same attention because it is an idolatry that most of us have to deal with. It is interesting that virtually every time Paul gives a list of sins to avoid he includes covetousness. We often joke about covetousness being a desire for what some one else has, and therefore it is not coveting to want something that does not belong to some one else. ‘I don’t want their car, but I want one just like it!’

Though we say that in jest, I wonder how often it expresses our true desires. In reality, covetousness is an inordinate desire for ‘stuff.’ I may not want someone else’s possessions, but I want it because they have it. I want stuff that other people have. It’s not fair that they have something I don’t have. Why do they get to have this or that and not me?

If you ever watch young children play you will see an interesting phenomenon. If one child has a toy another will reach and scream for it until they get it. Often once they get it they will lay it aside. They don’t really want it, they just don’t want someone else to have something they don’t.

So it goes with covetousness. We see something and we want it. The desire to have it becomes so overwhelming that nothing gets in our way. We are going to get it and not even God Himself is going to stop us.

Now we see why God puts covetousness in this list. The desire to have these things overrules the desire to please God. These things get the attention that only God deserves.

Slay it. Kill it. Put it away. Trust God instead of stuff.