Covetousness in the Bible – a heartbreaking true story

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ ¹⁴ Jesus replied, ‘Man, who appointed me judge or arbiter between you?’ ¹⁵ Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’

Luke 12:13-15

Some versions use the word greed in verse 15, while others translate this as covetousness. Greed, envy and covetousness in the Bible are often used interchangeably but there are subtle differences. 

Greed is never satiated, always wanting more even at the expense of others. Envy, on the other hand, presents as jealousy over something another person has. It observes another person’s possession and despises that person simply because they have it. Envy wants it too.

Covetousness is even more malicious than envy. It takes envy to the next level and asserts, ‘If I can’t have it, then I don’t want them to have it either!’

Sadly, covetousness is one of the most spiteful and destructive attitudes of the human heart. Like a cancer, it eats away at us from inside, destroying us both spiritually and emotionally. The negativity makes us miserable people to be around. It clouds our thoughts, darkens our conversations, and debilitates our overall emotional state. 

Left unchecked, covetousness imprisons us spiritually, emotionally and even physically our entire lives.

It certainly impacts our relationships with both God and the people around us. Usually, its effects are more spiritual or psychological than physical but there are times where covetousness can take hold with very real physical consequences.

Love of Money at its Ugliest

Nowhere have the tragic effects of covetousness been clearer to me than in a story related by some missionaries in our church. The family felt called to minister to an impoverished community in Zambia, Southern Africa. One of the villages they used to visit was particularly poor. It had almost zero employment and the community was either on the breadline or starving.

One of the villagers decided to make a change and headed into the city in search of work. He found a job and returned to the village many weeks later for a brief visit with his family. He came back with cash in his pocket and bearing gifts. A television for his family and some brand new shoes for his children.

He had found success and brought the news to the village; there was work to be found in the city and their lives could change!

Far from rejoicing in his good fortune and sharing the joy of his family and children, his neighbors in the village were filled with envy and covetousness. This festered unchecked for days until finally, one evening, a group of men in the village forced their way into his home. They attacked him, beat him, and took the television outside where they smashed it to bits. They tore the new shoes from his children’s feet and took them outside too. Finally, they doused the pile in gasoline and set fire to the lot.

Once this was done, they calmed down. The beating stopped and the men departed. Their parting words were, ‘It’s fine now. We’re all good. Now you’re just like us.’

There are numerous spiritual lessons we can draw from this story. However, I’m going to focus on the economic impact of covetousness on this community. Economics is a complex subject with an intricate network of cause and effect. 

Looking at this village as a micro-economy some might say they are covetous because they are poor and uneducated. However, it is equally true that they remain poor because they are covetous!

Consider the course this village might have taken if this community had rooted covetousness out of its heart. Instead of the tragic tale that unfolded, there would have been rejoicing at one family’s good fortune. In fact, a few others might have asked if the man could share his newfound knowledge and show them where they might find work as well.

Since there was now money in the village, trades might begin as neighbours began selling their goods and services to those families that had money to spend. Pretty soon, the money would have begun to spread around the village and a micro-economy would have been born. The surrounding villages would likely have heard that there was wealth in this village and would have begun travelling to the village to trade their own goods and services. Success breeds success and, in time, a thriving community could have been built. It may have taken several years or even a generation but the fate of this village could have been turned around by that one man’s actions… but for covetousness.

Such brutal acts of covetousness are rare in first-world societies. Even so, this mean-spirited attitude can still present in our own lives. When we see that pop-star or sports idol and feel the animosity as we consider how easy their life is. They earn millions of pounds and are adored by fans. It just seems wrong that they should have so much while the rest of the world struggles to make ends meet.

Covetousness in the Bible

Of course most Christians would not consciously be so uncharitable toward another human being. We tend to cloak our covetousness in self-righteous anger. ‘That money he/she squandered on that last shopping spree could have been given to the poor!’ we say.  ‘It’s shameful that someone should earn such obscene amounts of money for kicking a football around a field,’ we say.

I’ve been guilty of this attitude many times in my life. At heart, it is covetousness and we need to root it out of our hearts. Let’s not forget, in these instances, the victim of our covetousness is unaffected. They don’t even know we exist. The only people we damage with this covetous attitude are ourselves. It is a chain that binds us in ways we can’t even see.

When we look at the situation in that Zambian village, we can see the folly of the villagers’ actions. We can see how they could change their situation and we can see the destructive consequences of their world-view. 

However, we need to understand that those villagers can’t see this at all. They have psychological blinkers that prevent them from seeing what is, perhaps, obvious to outsiders who don’t have those same blinkers. They don’t see the folly or the consequences of their actions. All they know is that they are poor, that they are struggling. They are stuck in a cycle from which there seems to be no escape.

Now let’s turn our eyes inwards. Search for the log in our own eyes, so to speak. What cycles are we stuck in? What are we trying to escape from or change in our lives? Or what do we just wish was different? Then let’s consider; how might our own first-world brand of covetousness be holding us back?

Even when we can’t see the tragic effects of covetousness in our own lives, the effects are still there. The truth is we may never even see the chains that bind us. Not until we root out the sinful attitudes that hold those chains in place. Sometimes, the shackles that bind can only be recognised after they are broken and we are free.

I remember when I embarked on my journey into property investment. I was plagued by worries, doubts and questions. What if I couldn’t find a tenant? What if my tenants trashed the house or didn’t pay? What if my insurance and maintenance costs outstripped the income and I ran at a loss? The list of nagging doubts went on. It all came down to a fear of loss

Here is an unpalatable truth. Every investor has to put their money down knowing that there is a chance, however small, they will never see it again. This knowledge cripples most people. I spent the first half of my life terrified of losing what I already had. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing the house or car I had worked so hard to acquire.

I recall one conversation with a wealthy friend about stock market investment many years ago. I was dabbling and wanted some tips on investment. He laughed and told me the only tip he had was this. ‘If ever you get a cold call from a foreign-sounding person asking if you are interested in investing and offering to have a broker phone you back, hang up and walk away.’

He then related a story in which this had happened to him. When he expressed interest, he had later received a follow-up call from a professional sounding broker. The man had told him about a stock that was about to skyrocket. He had to get in immediately or he would miss the boat.

My friend is not stupid. He is a savvy investor and said he would think about it and the broker was welcome to contact him again in a month or two. During that time, he watched the stock and saw it rocket up, just as the broker had predicted. He also kept an eye on a few other stocks that interested him.

When the broker called back a month later, my friend asked him about the other stocks he had been watching. The man was able to talk credibly on those stocks and so, suitably impressed, this friend invested a small amount in the new stock the broker was touting. In due course, he received a fancy-looking share certificate and he watched with glee as the stock continued to rise.

More phone calls followed and each time, he invested more money. When he was about $30,000 in, he happened to rent a DVD called Boiler Room. His blood turned cold as the story of the Boiler Room scam unfolded and he began to realise that he might have been duped.

He called the broker’s number the following day and got an answering machine. Nobody ever returned the call. A chill ran through him as he realised the foreign address details he had were probably bogus. A call to the police told him the rest. He had been conned out of his money by foreign nationals. The police had no jurisdiction there. They could maybe contact the USA or the Philippines where the calls originated but he shouldn’t hold out much hope. His money was gone and could not be recovered.

This friend was actually able to laugh at his own expense as he told me this story. Instead of wallowing in his loss, he went out and invested more wisely going forward. Back in the 1990’s $30,000 was a staggering amount to lose. 

I remember mulling over this conversation as I drove home that evening. If I lost $30,000, I would cry myself to sleep for the rest of my life. This thought ran through my head over and over. I now realise that it was this very mindset that kept me where I was in life and my friend where he was.

He was prepared to lose what he had and so took some risks and he invested. Sure, he lost on occasion but more often than not, he gained from his successful investments. I was not prepared to lose what I had and therefore never took any risks. Consequently, I never learned about investing and also never allowed my investments to grow.

Overcoming Fear of Loss

Years on, I have now changed my mindset. Now, I have my own stories to tell. Battle-scars, so to speak, with losses from bad investment decisions that match my friend’s $30,000. However, I have increased my income and have a growing portfolio that not only increases with inflation but also produces a positive cash-flow every month. 

Most importantly, I have learned from my mistakes and am able to make better investment decisions as a result of those losses.

On reflection, I now realise it was the love of money – or fear of loss – that prevented me from achieving my goals. Too terrified to lose the little I had, I never took the risks to reach for what I really wanted in life. There is a saying among investors. Every time you invest, you either win or you learn.

Learning costs money. It is a painful and expensive experience. Paraphrasing Winston Churchill, I’m always ready to learn – but I don’t always enjoy being taught. 

As long as we love money so much that we cannot bear to lose any and learn by making mistakes, we will never achieve financial freedom. That fear of loss will forever hold us back.

Conversely, when we shed the love of money, we reduce its importance in our lives, and we are more likely to take risks. Yes, we may lose some but we will learn from those losses and, in the end, we will acquire the skills we need to make sound investments and ultimately achieve financial freedom.

I can honestly say that confronting my fear of loss has changed my life. I have lost more money in the last three years than in the rest of my life put together – and yet, I am in a better financial position than I have ever been before.

Christians confronting greed. This seems so obvious, why mention it at all?

How many times have we seen multi-billionaires on TV still chasing the almighty dollar and wondered when will they ever have enough? It sickens us to see the greed; the private jets, helicopters and yachts that cost tens or even hundreds of millions. Or the $20,000 pair of shoes that celebrity bought – to match her $40,000 handbag, of course.

But let’s scale that back a bit. At heart, all we are witnessing is people living according to their means. In fact, they’re probably living a little beyond their means because that is human nature. It seems obscene to us that they spend so much money – but they only do it because they have so much money to spend. The truth is they are no different to all the hard-working folk who earn a few thousand a month and then spend every penny of it plus a little extra on the credit card.

This is one of the first things the financial gurus teach us regarding Financial Freedom. In order to grow your wealth, you first need to learn to live beneath your means. Spend less than you earn by confronting greed, they say. For every $10.00 that goes into your bank account, make sure $1.00 never comes out. 

This is not your tithe and it’s not your mortgage. It’s not for your kids’ college fund or your pension contribution. It is your savings; the seed from which you will grow your wealth. Sound financial advice. But does it line up with scripture? I believe it does.

Confronting Greed

⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

1 Timothy 6:6-8

Godliness with contentment is simply the ability to live a Godly life and be content with what he has blessed me rather than striving for what I can’t quite afford at present. It also just so happens to be the best foundation from which to start building wealth. 

This is one of sin’s great ironies. The love of money promises happiness and fulfillment. If I only had a little more money I could buy that dream car and then I will be happy. So I work and save and apply for another credit card. And when finally I buy the dream car, I meet a friend who has a better one. Or someone who has just got back from their dream overseas vacation. And now I want that too. 

Instead of confronting greed, the cycle begins again. Always striving, never satisfied and, worse, drowning in debt so that I am forced to work ten hours a day just to get that promotion. Which I now need more than ever to pay for all the stuff I’ve bought.

If you’re anything like me, you may value memories more than things – so much more noble, don’t you agree? So instead of golf clubs, cars and yachts, we squander our earnings on expensive restaurants and overseas holidays that we can barely afford but, hey, that’s what credit cards are for, right?

It’s all materialism at heart and at its root is  – the love of money! 

When we suppress the love of money and root it out of our lives, by confronting greed, we discover godliness with contentment and suddenly none of that stuff matters any more. This is empowering and – here is the irony – it actually starts us on the road to creating true wealth!

Whenever a conversation about money, investment or financial freedom begins, I feel the urge to set the timer on my mobile phone… and see how long it takes before the first Christian in the room says, ‘Yes, but life is not all about money.’

I actually agree with them. I just don’t feel the need to point it out at every opportunity.

Actually, it’s all about time. Time is the finite commodity in life. There are only so many hours in a day, days in a week, weeks in a year. We have only a few short years when our children, or grandchildren, are growing up and desperately need our time and attention – the time in which we can influence their life’s course.

There are only a finite number of years during which we have the physical and mental capacity to perform our chosen vocation, after which, our bodies will begin to slow down and physically weaken. Travel will become more difficult, our independence will diminish, and our world will begin to shrink.

There are only a finite number of years during which we can share God’s love and the good news of the gospel with others; a time when we can make a mark in this world and, God willing, leave it a little better than we found it.

And every minute wasted is a minute lost. We can never get it back.

So, I ask; why would we choose to chain ourselves to a desk and the accompanying commute to-and-fro for ten to sixteen hours of our waking day for the best forty years of our lives? All in pursuit of money!

Counter-Intuitive Values

I find it strange that so many Christians who spend all their time trying to earn money consider the act of understanding finance and investing money for passive income (to buy back time) the love of money.

Surely the opposite is true.

It is this blinkered thinking that keeps us locked in financial bondage when freedom is just one change of perspective away.

Money, investment, or wealth creation comes up in the conversation and our Love of Money alarm bell sounds. We feel the burning urge to say, ‘Yes, but there is more to life than the almighty dollar. It’s not all about money.’ We do this without even considering the possibility that we, personally, are struggling with that very issue. This is the devil’s greatest trick.

Time is Money

There is a saying that time is money. In one sense it is. In another, time is infinitely more valuable. Rather than focusing all our effort on acquiring money, we should be looking for ways to put our money to work so that we can have more time to:

• Spread the gospel
• See the people we love and
• Share God’s love with others

To me, this is true wealth. In that sense, time is money.

The idea of measuring wealth in terms of time takes love of money out of the equation. The idea is simple. Ask yourself this question. If you lost your job today and your income dried up, how long can you survive before you run out of money and begin to starve? Let’s assume you have investments that earn you $500 per month and expenses of $2000 per month. That means you could last roughly one week before you run out of money.

Now, if you could increase your monthly investment income to $1000, you double the amount of time you can last from one week to two weeks. You have increased your ‘wealth’ by a factor of one week.

What would happen if, instead, you were able to halve your expenses from $2000 to $1000? It is worth noting that expense reduction is far easier to achieve than increased income.

This might mean a smaller house, a smaller car and cheaper vacations but the net result is the same. You will have increased your survival time by a factor of one week and thus doubled your true wealth without increasing your income at all.

See how we can achieve wealth simply by reducing our monthly expenses?

It sounds easy but it’s not. It requires godliness with contentment. To achieve this, we need to break Mammon’s (love of money’s) hold on our lives.

⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

1 Timothy 6:6-8

I realise the numbers I used are a little simplistic and the chances that the average family could halve their expenses overnight is unrealistic. I merely write it to illustrate the point. Every dollar saved in the expenses column is a step towards true wealth and away from the love of money.