SATURDAY, MARCH 3
Luke 16:1-18
Genesis 2:18-25

“…a man
…shall cleave unto his wife:
and they shall be one flesh.”

COVETOUSNESS REBUKED

Covetousness is defined as a strong or inordinate desire to obtain and possess some supposed good, an inordinate desire for wealth or avarice. Covetousness leads to corruption and treachery. The man in the parable wasted what was not his own. He splurged his lord’s wealth obtaining and possessing things which he could not afford. Caught for his evil deeds, he resorted to trickery. The Lord commended the servant not for his wicked action but because he “had done wisely” (Luke 16:8) compared to God’s children. The covetous servant made “friends of the mammon of unrighteousness” (Luke 16:9). But believers, instead of sourcing their mammon through righteous means, imitate the ungodly by trusting unrighteous sources of provisions.

A covetous person is disrespectful because he is concerned only for his own good. When the covetous Pharisees heard the parable they ridiculed Jesus. They did not want to concede that they were serving the mammon of unrighteousness instead of God. Moreover, they coveted the people’s high regard. Jesus stressed that those who were esteemed by men were not of God. In fact it was seen as an abomination in His sight.

Covetousness does not only describe inordinate desires for material things but also lustful relations. In Mathew’s account, the Pharisees asked Jesus whether it was lawful for a husband to divorce his wife. Jesus rebuked them for it was not so in God’s design (Gen 2:24), and no authority on earth could separate them. Lustful desires lead to extramarital relationship. Recently, it was reported that the divorce rate even among professing Christians is increasing. Covetous hearts are adulterous. Adultery starts with an inordinate desire that leads to broken marriages, shattered families and delinquent children.

THOUGHT: Am I a covetous person?
PRAYER: Father of all graces, clear my mind and heart of all covetous desires. Help me to be content with Thy blessings.