I Can’t Get No ….. Satisfaction

(click on pic to listen) On the night of November 16, 1930, Mrs. Henrietta Garret, a lonely 81-year-old widow died in her home in Philadelphia, and, unwillingly, started the most fantastic case of inheritance litigation in history. She had failed to leave a will, or no will was found to her $17,000,000 estate; a mystery still unsolved. She had expertly handled her financial affairs since her husband’s death in 1895 and therefore many felt that she must have realized that without a will, her fortune would become involved in legal battles.

Although, Mrs. Garret, at the time of her death, had only one known relative, a second cousin, and less than a dozen friends; attempts to prove relationship to her and claim a part of her estate was made by more than 26,000 persons from 47 states and 29 foreign countries, represented by more than 3,000 lawyers. In their efforts to obtain her estate, there were those that committed perjury, faked family records, changed their own names, altered data in Family Bibles and concocted absurd tales of illegitimacy. As result, 12 were confined, 10 received jail sentences, 2 committed suicide, and 3 were murdered. I wonder how many would have admitted they were guilty of covetousness?”

Covetousness is known as the sin that nobody will admit to.  Covetousness is at the root of all evil. It causes us to do things, manipulate people. Spend more than we should.  Covetousness causes us to max out credit cards by buying things that we just have to have. Covetousness has at its root the unquenchable desire that I am entitled to all the stuff that I own. I am also entitled to things that I deserve to own. Covetousness is at the root of why we break the other nine commandments.

The things we covet become idols we worship.

• We lie to get what we want.
• We steal to get what we want

Coveting causes us to misuse the name of God to manipulate situations and people .

Coveting causes us to overwork and never take Sabbath day – let alone make it holy.

Coveting causes others to murder others to get what they want.

When we covet something or someone they become the object of our affection.

• We just have to have it (him/her) to be happy.
• We just have to have it (him/her) to be content.
• We just have to have it (him/her) because – well – we are going to die if don’t get it or the person.

Covetousness  at its root  is the worship of self. A covetous heart can never be content! It looks at another man’s wife and says, “Oh, if I had one like her.” You’d better be content with what God has given you; the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence. The grass is never greener on the other side. “Oh, if I could only get this or that job, then I’d be satisfied.” No, you wouldn’t! If God gave you a thousand dollars a day, you wouldn’t be satisfied! Your heart goes after exactly what you covet.

The question that begs to be asked is if I am not feeling content if I am not feeling satisfied with my life – “what am I coveting?”

Scripture:

Exodus 20:17  Living Translation (NLT)

“You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

Luke 12

“Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops.  He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’  Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

The word “covet” is translated most frequently in the New Testament as James calls it, “LUST.” It means to desire inordinately or without due regard to the rights of others, to desire wrongfully. In the OT when it is used it is defined as desire greatly something or someone who so captivates you that you will do anything to get it/them.

Here are some of the examples that scripture gives us:

• David desired Bathsheeba greatly and had her husband killed.
• Esau desired food greatly and he gave up his birth right.
• Abraham desired his life greatly and was willing to give up his wife Sarah to protect his own life.
• Judas desired money greatly and betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver

James 1:14-15 from The Message paints a great picture of the word covet – “The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust (or the person or thing we covet) Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.”

Coveting is pregnant lust.  And when it gives birth it could destroy your life.

So what’s the difference between coveting and desire? The parable in Luke 12 that I read earlier gives you an idea.

When you look at the parable – What was wrong with this farmer? Was it the fact that he was successful? Of course not! Nowhere does Scripture condemn success or riches as such. God never rejected Abraham or Solomon, Job or Joseph of Arimathaea for being rich and successful. What was wrong then with this rich man? Had he acquired his wealth by dishonest means? There is nothing in this parable that points in that direction. On the contrary, we are given the impression that the man had become rich because of God’s blessing the labor of his hands, causing the soil to be so fruitful that it produced bountiful crops.

Jesus is teaching us there is nothing wrong with the desire to be successful. There is nothing wrong  with the desire to be rich. There is nothing wrong with the desire to improve your way of life.

So … what went wrong? His heart was no longer rich toward God – meaning – His desire for God (the one who had blessed  his labor) became less and his desire for success, being rich, and improving his life became greater.

The one thing I have learned about following God is that when your desire for him grows stronger –  humility, servant hood, and loving others becomes stronger. Generosity rules your life. Contentment governs your soul. You are aware that you are a part of something much greater than yourself.  You are aware that your purpose is not just to make money, accumulate wealth, or build bigger barns.

The opposite is true – when your desire for God lessens – pride sets in and you begin to pursue those desires of the flesh. You begin to serve only yourself and loving others becomes an after-thought. . You become stingy with your stuff. You can’t get no satisfaction. You are never satisfied. The farmer wasn’t satisfied with the size of his barns.  When his barns got bigger – God got smaller. That’s the way it works. There is no way you can love and serve both. It is impossible. One of the two will rule.

Covetousness ruins your relationship with Christ.

Let me put this is in perspective. If I were to covet some other woman other than my wife – that would really mess up my relationship with my wife.  Trust would be destroyed. Our love for each other would be ruined. When we are not satisfied with God alone – our desires run quickly to the nearest thing or person that make us feel good. That will make us feel loved. That will make us feel happy. When we allow other people or things to become our first love it will destroy your relationship.

I loved the story that Bill Fulda shared about Ray and Jeannie Bullock at Ray’s funeral.  Bill shared the story about when he and Ray were here working at the church, Ray shared that Jeannie wanted him to understand that she only loved two men her life. He was not the #1 person in her life. He would need okay with being the #2 man in his life.  If he wasn’t okay with that then they can’t get married. This is a beautiful picture of what it means to love God first.

So what do we do?

Ask the tough question: What (who)  is it that I love move than God?  Or have someone ask you the tough question

For Paul,  he loved the church more than loved God. For Peter, he loved himself more than he loved God. For Judas, he loved money more than he loved God. For the rich young ruler, he loved his stuff more than he loved God. Two out of four humbled themselves and admitted their shortcomings.

We need to be honest with God. I believe that is the key to any great relationship. He knows our thoughts. He knows when we rise and when sit down. We don’t have to hide. We can’t hide. When we humble ourselves his Spirit (the Holy Spirit) is allowed to work in us and change the way we  think, change our desires, and change who we love.

Covetousness keeps us from being faithful to him.

Living only for a bigger and better salary, home, car, or vacation doesn’t satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts. It may seem as if happiness and satisfaction will increase as we gain more and more possessions, but it doesn’t work that way. When we are guilty of possessing a covetous heart, we can be sure that the level of our devotion to Jesus Christ will suffer. “Pastor Tom, you don’t  understand me. I can control myself. I’m not like the others. My stuff doesn’t quench my desire for God. My stuff doesn’t affect my relationship with God.” Are  you sure about that? because if you are not content with your life and your stuff then why aren’t you satisfy with your life.

According to zoo keepers, two snakes will sometimes grab different ends of the same piece of food. Sooner or later their struggle for that last bite brings them nose to nose. But then comes the surprise. The snake with the widest bite will keep right on going and actually swallow the other. Man may think that he can control his covetous urges, but he will quickly find that they will swallow him alive and will destroy his relationship with God.

So what do you do?

Again, ask the tough question: What keeps me from being faithful to him? What is getting in the way of our relationship?

• For some of us it could be the need for more stuff.

Our problem is not that we have too little, nor is it that we possess too much. Our problem is that we want more than we need. Epicurus has written, “If you want to make a man happy, add not to his possessions, but take away from his desires.”

• For some of us it could a lack of desire.

Scripture tells us that what our heart desires is what we seek after.  None of the things we desire are wrong. But when our desire for stuff or another person becomes greater than our desire for God then you have a problem. God helps us put our desires in perspective. God allows death, tragedy, trials  and tribulation (the stuff we don’t like to go through) in our life to help us put or desires in the right order. The things that happen to us help us realize that there is a God who is much bigger than us.

The question I get sometimes is – how do you get that kind of desire? You ask God for it. 

The practical thing you can do about covetousness is to:

Beware of how your stuff is controlling you by asking these questions.

How do you know if your stuff is controlling you?

1. The desire is so great you are willing to go into debt for it.
2. If you have credit cards that you can’t pay off.
3. When you don’t ask the question, “Do I really need this?”
4. When you can’t give anything to help further the Kingdom of God. If you can’t tithe or give generously to help ministry happen your stuff is controlling you

Be reminded:

• Life is not measured by how much you own. It is measured by how rich your relationship with God is.
• If you can’t any satisfaction perhaps you need to revisit your relationship with God.