STUDY THEME: TRANSFORMED ATTITUDES. 2-17-02"COVETING TO CONTENTMENT." ROMANS 7:7-8; PHIL. 4:10-13; 1 TIM.6:610 PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO ROMANS 7.

Our attitude toward things is one of the clearest markers of our spiritual maturity. Covetousness grows in the context of sinful desires. Contentment arises in the context of commitment.

"Covetousness" is defined as "the inordinate desire to have something". "The excessive desire to have what belongs to another." Speaking of "contentment" PLUTARCH said "Learn to be pleased with everything; with wealth as far as it makes us beneficial to others; with poverty, for not having much to care for; and with obscurity, for not being envied." Another wrote, "Contentment" is a pearl of great price. He who is not content with what he has, would not be content with what he would like to have."

You may remember the rancher who had thousands of acres of land, when asked how much more land he still wanted replied, "Only that which joins mine." A prayer you may wish sometime to pray is "My God, give me neither poverty nor riches, but whatever it may be thy will to give, give me with it, a heart that knows humbly to acquiesce in what thy will.

The theme of today’s lesson is that Christ in us moves us from coveting to contentment." The Life Question it seeks to address is "Am I content with what I have?" True contentment comes when we escape the servitude to things, when we find our wealth in the love and friendship and the fellowship of people, and when we realize that our most precious possession is our friendship with God, made possible through Jesus Christ.

In the secular worldview, wants are confused with needs. Many adults are discontented because they don’t have all the things they want. Influenced by the commercials they see on T.V., some adults want every new creature comfort. Many adults go into debt to maintain a standard of living that "keeps up with the Joneses."

In the Biblical worldview material possessions are not the source of contentment. Contentment comes from focusing on the eternal and trusting Christ to supply life’s needs.

  1. PLEASE READ ROMANS 7: 7-8.

    2. This passage begins one of the greatest passages in the N.T. Here Paul deals with the torturing paradox of the law. In Vs. 15 Paul said "For that which I hate, that I do". In itself the law is a fine and splendid thing. It is holy. It is the very voice of God. It is divine and it is just. The law is that which settles all relationships, human and divine. If man perfectly kept the law he would be in a perfect relationship both with God and with his fellow men. But as Paul pointed out in 2 Cor. 5:21 "No one except Christ has—or could—ever fully obey it." The Law is good—designed for nothing other than our highest welfare and our highest good. It is meant to make a man a good man.

    All that is true, and yet the fact remains that this same law is the very thing through which sin gains an entry and a bridgehead into a man. Paul said "Sin without the law is lifeless; it has no existence until a thing is defined as sin by the law". A man cannot know that it is sin. The law creates sin in the sense that it defines sin. The experience of regeneration had caused Paul to hate sin. If regeneration is real, the Christian has in his inner being the living Christ, which ought to issue forth in Christ like living. Jesus warned his disciples in Luke 12 to "take heed, and beware of covetousness." In Col 3:5 covetousness is defined as idolatry.

    Paul gave an example of how the tenth commandment "thou shalt not covet", had led him to know "covetousness." That is the desires that led to transgression of the Tenth Commandment.

    Vs. 8 takes the argument one step further. Sin was the specific requirement of the law as a base of operation from which to launch its evil work. Confronted by God’s law, the sinner’s rebellious nature finds the forbidden thing more attractive, because it furnishes an opportunity to assist one’s self-will. Sin was dormant, but when the law comes, sin become fully active and over-whelms the sinner; producing all manner of evil. One of the keys to victorious Christian living is the recognition of the fact that it is not enough just to will to do good. Paul says the only way to live a victorious daily Christian life, is the same way that we became a Christian in the first place. We must put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

    Paul referred to the Tenth Commandment, which forbids coveting. What is covetousness? Isn’t it a mixture of greed and envy. Greed is the insatiable desire for more and more material things for ourselves. Envy, is wanting what others have. Put them together and you have covetousness. The Tenth Commandment forbids coveting anything that belongs to a neighbor. Jesus warned in Luke 12:15, "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesses." He followed with the story of the foolish farmer who built greater barns from which to feed his soul. Paul points out in Eph. 5:5 that "no covetousness man has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God."

    The Tenth Commandment from the beginning dealt with an inner attitude. Coveting cannot be seen until it leads to action: however, it is sin even as an attitude. Some outstanding examples of covetousness are Achan (Josh 7); Saul (1 Sam. 15:9, 19); Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5: 1-11). In Exodus 18:2 when Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, was describing the men to be chosen as judges to assist Moses; their spiritual qualities were to be; "able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness." Incidentally, these same spiritual qualities were required of the N.T. leaders in Acts. 6:3, 1 Tim. 3:1-7, and Titus 1:6-9. In describing that which comes out of the heart that defiles a man in Mk. 7:20-23 Jesus included theft and covetousness.

    PLEASE TURN TO PHILIPPIANS 4.

  2. PLEASE READ PHILIPPPIANS 4: 10-13.

    3. In the closing paragraph of this letter Paul finally gets around to acknowledging the gift from the Philippian Church and the ministry which EPAPHRODITUS has rendered in his behalf. This was, of course, the immediate occasion of his writing. It was not that he was dissatisfied with his own state, for he had learned the gift of contentment. He says that he had learned to be entirely self-sufficient. This self-sufficiency was the highest aim of the Stoic ethics. The Stoics rightly believed that contentment did not consist in possessing much but in wanting little. "If you want to make a man happy," they said, "add not to his possessions, but take away from his desires."

    We see at once the difference between the Stoics and Paul. The Stoic said, "I will learn contentment by a deliberate act of my own will." Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ who infuses His strength into me." For the Stoic contentment was a human achievement: for Paul it was a divine gift. The Stoic was self-sufficient: but Paul was God sufficient. Stoicism failed because it was inhuman; Christianity succeeded because it was rooted in the divine. Paul could face anything; he could have nothing and he could have all things; it made no difference, because, in any situation he had Jesus Christ. The man who walks with Christ and lives in Christ can cope with anything. In Vs. 13 Paul says this beautifully: "I am a match for all circumstances through the One whose overflow of power keeps enabling me."

    Paul’s testimony is remarkable because such contentment is so rare. In fact, most people are the exact opposite of Paul. He was contented with material things, but he was constantly seeking to become better in moral and spiritual things. Most people are content or complacent about their moral and spiritual progress, but they are continually discontented with their material possessions. They have not learned the true secret of contentment. Someone has written "A contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world." If we fasten our attention on what we have rather than on what we lack, a very little is sufficient.

    Another factor in contentment is to distinguish between needs and wants. Our basic human needs are important to our happiness, but we often have many wants that create discontentment and stress. The contented man is never poor; the discontented man is never rich. I am content with what happens; for I know that what God chooses is better than what I choose.

    PLEASE TURN TO 1 TIMOTHY 6.

  3. PLEASE READ 1 TIMOTHY 6: 6-10.

Paul wrote two letters to his younger coworker Timothy. As a veteran minister, he offered sound advice to the younger minister. One of Paul’s concerns in this first letter was instructing Timothy on how to respond to false teachers. One of the characteristics of these false teachers was their mercenary motive; they thought "that godliness was a means to financial gain." Although Paul believed that a minister had a right to be supported by the people he served, he was concerned about ministers who were motivated primarily by money. He wrote in 2 Cor. 2:17 "Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit."

Having noted the profit motive of the false teachers in his second letter, Paul stressed the seductive nature of wealth for all Christians. He stressed that the great gain in life should be found in godliness with contentment. Godliness does not give financial gain; it itself is gain when accompanied with contentment. The Greek word for contentment is from the same root as the one Paul used in Phil. 4:11-12. Christians are to be satisfied and sufficient, and not seek for more than what God has already given them. He is a source of true contentment. Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 3:5, "Our sufficiency is from God." Paul’s sufficiency came from his relationship with Jesus, not his financial condition. The real profit in life is not a big bank account or lots of investments in the stock market. The real profit in life comes from a strong relationship with Jesus.

Paul pointed to the folly of making money central to our lives by noting that we came into the world empty-handed, and we will leave the world in the same way. Job said in Job 1:21 "Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither." As the Spanish proverb grimly puts it; "There are no pockets in a shroud." We might fool ourselves for a while that money and possessions will satisfy our deepest longings, but Paul and our own experience agree that money can never offer complete contentment in life. We should be content, Paul said, if we have food and clothing. When our basic needs are met, we can experience serenity or contentment. I hope you will take time this week to go back to Luke 12:22-34 and read Jesus addressing the matter of the essentials of life. In vs. 31 He says, "But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you."

In vs. 9 Paul focused on people who want to get rich. Greed is actually a root of all kinds of evil. Greedy people are compulsive—they are continually trapped in sin by their consuming desire to acquire more. Such greed may lead these people to suffer the tragic end of destruction and hell. I wonder how many people today might fall into that category! Lots of people buy lottery tickets, enter T.V. game shows, and risk money excessively in the stock market because they want to be rich. But a person who makes gaining wealth the highest goal of his or her life will fall into temptation and a trap. He or she can easily become addicted to money and possessions.

Such a person can be led into ruin and destruction. Some people who are obsessed with money may experience financial ruin. They may be wealthy for a while, but they may lose everything eventually. Others will keep much of their wealth, but they will experience spiritual, emotional and family problems. Some professionals, for instance, who are so preoccupied with success in their careers that they neglect their families. They have large bank accounts while they go through a divorce. Augustine perceptively wrote: "It is not a matter of possession but of desire. One man may have much money on him, but no greed in him, whereas another may have no money on him but much greed in him.

In vs. 9 ‘drown’ refers to sinking to the bottom. Thus Paul warned of the three steps to ruin from covetousness. Being tempted, being snared, and being destroyed. Paul’s warning about the love of money is often misunderstood. Money itself is not evil, since it is a gift from God. Money is amoral, it can do good or it can do evil.

1 Tim. 6:10 is one of the most often quoted and misquoted sayings in the Bible. Paul did not say money in itself is a root of all kinds of evil. Money may be very attractive and appealing, but money can be used for many good causes. The danger is making the love of money, or the pursuit of money central to our value system. Jesus made the choice clear when He said in Matt. 6:24 "you cannot serve God and Money."

There are special dangers included in the love of money:

  1. The desire for money tends to be a thirst, which is insatiable. One is always driven by the desire for a little more money.
  2. The desire for wealth is founded on an illusion. It cannot buy the greatest things. It can’t buy health, real love, security, nor can it preserve one from sorrow and from death.
  3. The desire for money tends to make a man selfish. It fosters the spirit of competition. The desire for wealth fixes a man’s thoughts upon himself, and others become merely means or obstacles in the path to his own enrichment.
  4. The strange thing is that the desire for wealth is based on the desire for security, but it ends on nothing but worry and anxiety. The more a man has to keep, the more he has to lose.
  5. The love of money may easily lead a man into wrong ways of getting money, and thereafter may lead him in the end to pain and regret and remorse.

People consumed with the desire for money head towards destruction. Paul might have had in mind people like Ananias and Sapphira of Acts 5:1-11 and Judas of John 12:6 when he noted that some have wandered from the faith. What we think about money and how we handle our money is directly connected to our relationship with God. Making money the focus of our lives can result in people pierced with many pains or griefs. Gold has replaced God for those apostates who have turned from pursuing the things of God in favor of money.

Paul’s instructions might trouble some readers. We should distinguish having healthy ambitions in life from having an excessive desire for wealth. A young professional, for example, who does well in her job, likely will receive promotions and raises. Desiring to excel in a career is commendable. Choosing a career primarily to make money or dedicating too much energy to a career and wealth can be dangerous to our spiritual well being. Money can be

very seductive.

Paul’s teaching about the danger of coveting will sharpen the contrast between the biblical view of money and popular views in our culture today. Many adults today are discontented with what they have, and they want more things. Many go into deep debt trying to accumulate more things. Paul taught us that true contentment comes from a relationship with Jesus; not more things.

Someone may ask, "Was Paul opposed to ambition, and are his teachings contrary to the free enterprise system?" Paul was not denying legitimate ambition, but he was warning that ambition for money could easily get out of hand. Ambition is out of hand when it becomes selfish and when it consumes our time and energy so that we neglect our relationship with God and others, especially our families. Making a living is a legitimate Christian action, in fact a duty. Supplying the needs of our families is important. Earning money to have something to give to the needy is also a Christian ambition. If you have nothing of your own, you have nothing to give.

Most of us struggle with the question of how much is enough for the legitimate needs of our families, for gifts to others, and for reasonable security against misfortune. We live in a society that continually moves our wants to the list of things we think we need. Actually humans have few basic needs. In the first century many believers were concerned primarily about survival. The same was true in our land during the Great Depression. Having food, clothing, and shelter were the goals. During the times of prosperity, people assume that they have these basic needs; so they concentrate on things they want.

The advertising industry is constantly influencing people to move things out of the wants column to the needs column. This results in the kind of discontentment that blights many lives and feeds the desire for riches. Many people—including many Christian people—need to move from covetousness to contentment. We have already seen that the secret of happiness lies in personal relationships, and the greatest of all relationships is the relationship to God.

The whole teaching of the Christian ethic is, not that wealth is a sin, but that wealth is a very great responsibility. In time and in eternity "it is more blessed to give than to receive."

OUR LESSON EMPHASIS THIS WEEK WAS CONTENTMENT. NEXT WEEK’S LESSON FROM LUKE 12 FOCUSES ON SHARING. A.V. DAUGHERTY 2-17-02