“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.’”
Hebrews 13:5
Do you know what covetousness is? I’ll tell you.
Covetousness is often jealousy or a desire for something that belongs to another person. If I’m going to break it down, let’s use something simple. You see someone with beautiful hair, you admire it, and you say, “Oh, your hair looks good on you.” That’s admiration. The moment it becomes, “This hair looks good on you, give it to me,” and you’re not joking, you’ve crossed a line. It can be mild, it can be painted, but it is still covetousness.
I used to believe there was a thin line between admiration and covetousness, but I don’t think so anymore; the line is pretty thick if you ask me. One is fueled by celebration, the other is fueled by greed. When there is love in your heart, it is easy to celebrate someone genuinely. You can say, “Oh my God, you did that! That’s amazing!” and truly mean it. But when greed is present, the moment you see what someone else has, you lose satisfaction with what you already have. For you, the grass will always be greener in your neighbour’s compound. “I must have that. I must have that.” And you are not even checking whether it is in God’s plan for you or aligned with His will for your life. Sometimes we even do it with spiritual things and beautify it with scripture.
Carry Yourself Contentedly
The Bible says, do not be covetous. This scripture is very straightforward. There is no English I can use to soften it for you. “Let your conduct…” and He is speaking to church people, because we are the ones most tempted by this. Let the way you carry yourself, let the way you behave (that is what conduct means. It covers your desires and expectations), the way you live your life. Let it be without covetousness.
Let your life be without desiring what someone else has so much that you want it for yourself. Instead, be content. Because if you are content with what you have, when you see the blessing of another, you will praise God for them and then face your front. I have been tempted by covetousness many times, especially on social media. You see someone doing well, and suddenly you rush to their profile to check if they have more followers than you. That is not right. That is not the kind of heart God wants us to have.
I AM Enough
And this is the interesting part of the scripture. He tells us to be content because He has made us a promise. He says He will never leave us and He will never forsake us. Here is what I take that to mean: be content with what you have because God Himself is your sufficiency.
If you admire what someone else has, celebrate them. You may not have what they have, but you have God in that area. That person you are admiring does not have something you have. They have God filling up their own areas, just as you have Him filling yours. Every place where you feel empty, God is saying, “I will not leave you. I will not forsake you. You have Me.” So He becomes what fills whatever you think you are lacking.
Jesus said to the woman at the well that if she knew who was speaking to her, she would ask Him for a drink and she would never thirst again. When He fills you, when He satisfies you, you don’t need anything else. So if what you have is two talents and another person has five talents, Jesus is your three talents. And you can be content with what you have because Jesus is enough for you.
Repent
If you find your heart drifting into covetousness, just like I am repenting today, repent. Say, “Lord, I repent of being covetous. I have used beautiful excuses to explain it, but I know that this is a greedy and covetous heart. Help me to build contentment.”
In Jesus’ name.
