Some time ago we looked at the sin of envy and its relation to jealousy and covetousness. Now we will attend to covetousness. Turns out it’s bad too.
Twice in the New Testament, once in Colossians and once in Ephesians, covetousness is equated with idolatry. The worship of idols was the prevailing sin of Israel and ended up working the ruin of both the northern and southern kingdoms, but after the exile idol worship “proper” was never tolerated again. But the human heart is subtle and crafty, like a sprawling city with many shady alleys and lairs. You can root sin out of one area only to find that a remnant of it scoots out the back door during the police raid and hides out in a safehouse for a bit. Then it gathers strength and starts disrupting things again.
So the root sin of idolatry which once could walk openly and claim even to be piety, now has to hide out in the basements of other vices. So when Paul says that covetousness is idolatry, it’s like he is pointing out that a smalltime criminal is hiding the mafia boss or the drug lord.
We can be inclined to think of covetousness as the junior member of the company; it comes last among the ten commandments, and after bearing false witness, stealing, lying, murder, and adultery, it seems anticlimactic. But the sin of covetousness contains the same seed which throws down empires and ruins nations: assuming yourself to be God.
When we covet our neighbors’ goods or condition, we shake our fist at Heaven and say, “Not thy will but mine be done! I give my allegiance to my own desires above all else.” And this is the essence of idolatry, and if we are not vigilant in rooting out this spirit of discontent, it can easily lead to misery. God help us.
Joshua Edgren – January 14, 2024
