SEP 20

Ezekiel 33:30-32
Memorise Luke 12:15
“with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness”

can easily identify them, and deal with them. There are others that are very easy to hide. We bury them within our hearts, whilst looking all holy, innocent and good on the outside, but are thoroughly wicked on the inside. Covetousness is one of those sins. It is a sin of the heart that no one else knows about and at times, we don’t even realize it when we ourselves commit it. Therein lies the danger of covetousness, for we can be committing it without even realising it.

Ezekiel is warned of such in Ezekiel 33:31. The Lord warns Ezekiel of a people who would go to him, and sit before him like any other member of the temple. They listen to his words intently, and will even sound the part of a faithful Jew, “for with their mouth they shew much love”. However, inwardly, their heart goeth after covetousness. They never truly receive the message of God, for they simply listen, but do not do. They are but hypocrites who will be judged by God one day.

Dear Teen, is this a description of us? We may go to church, involve ourselves with all the activities that any good believer would, but inwardly we are covetous, secretly, constantly desiring for things other than what God has allotted for us. No one else may realise it, but we are in actual fact very discontented against God, and disgruntled at what little we feel we have in life. We never fully understand the message of grace, nor appreciate the rich blessings we have in life. Maybe we feel that God has granted us the short end of the stick, and are very envious of those around us who seem to have so much more, and are much happier than us. We may not say it in so many words, but this is what we feel inside. Sometimes we might not even realise that we have this discontent within us. All around us, people are also talking about this constant desire for more, and so we are also led to feel the same way. Little do we realise that such discontent is a festering sore within us that eats us up from within, and can completely destroy our relationship with God. We may seem like happy devoted Christians from the outside, but really our hearts are far from God, never truly seeking Him, but always coveting after something else that we cannot have.

Thought: Am I a truly contented Christian?
Prayer: Lord, may You search my heart, and help me to overcome the discontent and covetousness within.