And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
(Luke 12:15 ESV)
The Temptation to Covet What I Don’t Have
I walked out of her house into fresh air and a breeze. The clouds in my heart had gathered in her house, and the moment I stepped out, they almost let out a few drops of rain through my eyes—but the Holy Spirit blew the storm clouds away before the clouds could burst. Through a Word of Scripture, he kept the inner storm from swallowing my joy.
She had a home, a husband, and a few kids, and told me all about them. I had been waiting on and praying for all of that—for years. I wanted what she had (that’s what the Bible calls coveting). “Wanted” is a light term for longing. My heart ached under the weight of delay and unanswered prayers—and yes, I coveted (Deuteronomy 5:21).
If Life Isn’t About Possessions, What’s It About?
I planned on telling the Lord about my want—confessing it—but he beat me to the conversation. Before I could utter a word to him from the heart, he whispered to mine what I had read the day before: “Be on guard against all covetousness, for life doesn’t consist in the abundance of your possessions”—he paraphrased (Luke 12:15).
Life isn’t about what I have or don’t have, I thought. Life is not about getting married, having kids, or buying houses.
“What is life about?” the Holy Spirit prompted.
Knowing you, I said. Knowing Jesus. Knowing the heart of my heavenly Father. This is life, I thought, when God the Spirit reveals himself to me through his Word in ways that interpret, sweeten, and deepen ordinary life, in ways that help me see him. You, Lord, you are what life is about.
Relationship with God—that’s life.
God says this himself in Philippians through the words of the apostle Paul:
“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Philippians 3:8 NLT)
I had planned to succumb to coveting—I’ll cry once I get in my car. But the Holy Spirit woke me up to the scheme of the enemy before I could submit: “Be on your guard against all covetousness.”
At the very same moment his soft warning against covetousness sounded in my heart, so did this word of comfort: “But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high” (Psalm 3:3 NLT).
And in the twenty steps from my friend’s house to my car, the Holy Spirit won a battle in my heart. He stood as my shield against temptation and won the battle with his Word.
Thank you, Lord, for being my shield.
Be On Your Guard Against All Covetousness
My prayer is that as you read this, he would do the very same thing through these very same words for you. Where are you tempted to covet? Tempted to forfeit your joy in what God has given to embrace envy over what he has not?
Hear the Holy Spirit’s voice today: “Life does not consist in the abundance of your possessions” (Luke 12:15 ESV). Those things will not satisfy your heart. What does life consist of then? Where is true joy found?
You’ve just heard the answer—communion with God (John 17:3). This is a deep, intimate, joyous relationship with him, only made possible by the loving sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection. This death and resurrection atoned for your sin and made it possible for you to come into a relationship with God.
Can you say that you have that kind of life? Do you know Jesus? He welcomes you into life that is truly life today—a life beyond things and wants and striving for earthly comforts. Will you turn from seeking your joy and life in what he has created to seeking him for all of that instead?
Today, be on your guard against all covetousness. Life isn’t about what we have or don’t have. It’s about who we are living life with—Jesus, who is himself, life (John 14:6).