covetousness

Opening Prayer: O Almighty God, eternal Treasure of all good things, thou fillest all things with plenteousness; Thou clothest the lillies of the field, and feedest the young ravens that call upon thee: Thou art all-sufficient in thy self, and all-sufficient to us, let thy Providence be my store-house, thy dispensation of temporal things the limit of my labour, my own necessity the measures of my desire: but never let my desires of this world be greedy, nor my labour immoderate, nor my care vexatious, and distracting, but prudent, moderate, holy, subordinate to thy Will, the measure thou hast appointed for me. ~Jeremy Taylor

Scripture: Luke 12:13-21

Journal: What does covetousness mean to you?  How does it most often show itself in your life?  In your heart and soul?  How can you be on your guard against all of it?  What are you trying to store in your barns these days?

Reflection: If you look up the word covetousness in the dictionary it will tell you that it means the state of being wrongfully or greedily desirous of something.  The Greek word used here is pleonexia, which means the constant desire for more.  It comes from the root word pleonektēs meaning an eager desire for more, particularly what someone else has.  Which means that covetousness can take many forms, money and possessions simply being its most frequent expression.  But covetousness can mean eagerly desiring (and thus seeking) lots of things: from possessions, to gifts and abilities, to accomplishments and achievements, to power, to importance, to affirmation, to attention, to acclaim, to significance, to success—you name it.  We can build bigger barns to try and hold just about anything.  Then those things become the focal point of our lives, rather than being rich toward God.

     Therefore, when Jesus tells us to be on our guard against all kinds of covetousness, he really means it.  Because covetousness is a tricky thing, it can wear many different disguises.  It can sneak into our lives through many different doors, often without us even recognizing it.  And when it does, it subtly diverts our focus and our attention away from God and onto building bigger barns.  Where are you eagerly desiring more?  And is that a good thing?

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Teach me, O God, to labour for the true riches, to seek the Kingdome of heaven and its righteousness, to be content with what thou providest, to be in this world like a stranger, with affections set upon heaven, labouring for, and longing after the possessions of thy Kingdomes; but never suffer my affectious to dwell below, but give me a heart compassionate to the poor, liberal to the needy, open and free in all my communications, without base ends, or greedy designs, or unworthy sorts of gain; but let my strife be to gain thy favour, to obtain the blessedness of doing good to others, and giving to them that want, and the blessedness of receiving from thee pardon and support, grace and holiness perseverance and glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. ~Jeremy Taylor