Covetousness: A Vice to Cast Off (Hebrews 13:5-6) | Worship Service

And good morning and welcome to Kootenai Church. We're glad you're here today. Would you please stand as we begin our call to worship from Psalm 9. In verse one, it says, I will give thanks to Yahweh with all my heart.

I will recount all your wondrous deeds. I will be glad and exult in you. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before you. For you have maintained my justice and my cause.

You have sat on the throne judging righteously. You have rebuked the nations. You have made the wicked perish. You have blotted out their name forever and ever. The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins and you have uprooted the cities.

The very memory of them has perished. But Yahweh abides forever. He has established his throne for judgment and he will judge the world in righteousness. He will render justice for the peoples with equity.

So let's sing together this psalm, Wholehearted Thanksgiving.

Wholehearted Thanksgiving to thee will I bring. In praise of thy marvelous deeds I will sing. In thee I will joy and exultingly cry. Thy name I will praise, O Jesus. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Let the earth hear his voice.

Praise the Lord. Let the people rejoice. O come to Jehovah his name. Thou Lord, our refuge for all the oppressed. All trust thee who know thee and trusting are blessed. With thy mercy forsake the soul that has sought of thy grace to partake.

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Let the people rejoice. O come to Jehovah, declare ye his fame. And give him for justice his name. Give praise to Jehovah, the mighty deeds tell.

Of him who has chosen in Zion to dwell. Of him to whom justice and vengeance belong. Who visits the lowly and overthrows wrong. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord. Let the people rejoice. O come to Jehovah, declare ye his fame. And give him for justice his name. Hold my affliction thy mercy accord. And back from death's portals restore me, O Lord.

That I in the gates of thy Zion may raise. My song of salvation and show forth thy praise. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Let the people rejoice.

O come to Jehovah, declare ye his fame. And give him all honor for justice his name. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Let the people rejoice.

O come to Jehovah, declare ye his fame. And give him all honor for justice his name. Mercy, my God, is the theme of my song. The joy of my heart and the boast of my tongue. Thy free grace alone from the first to the last.

Hath won my affections and bound my soul fast. Without thy sweet mercy I could not live here. Sin would reduce me to utter despair. But through thy free goodness my spirit's revived. And he that first made me still keeps me alive.

Mercy is more than a match for my heart. Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart. Dissolved by thy goodness I fall to the ground. And weep for the praise of the mercy I found. Hallelujah. Of mercies thy goodness I own.

And the covenant love of thy crucified son. All praise to the spirit whose working divine. Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine. All praise to the spirit whose working divine. Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine.

Hallelujah.

Last week we introduced a new song called The King of Love My Shepherd Is Psalm 23. So we're going to sing it again today.

The king of love my shepherd is. Whose goodness fills me now. If I am his and he is mine. Where streams of lilies, Saints' mead, Pastures grow. With food so less soft I stray. But yet in love he sought me.

And on his shoulder gently laid. At home rejoicing, Death's dark veil I fear. Beside your rod and staff. My comfort still. Your cross be his face. Good shepherd I sing your praise. Within your house. Good shepherd may.

I sing your praise within your house.

You may be seated.

Just two announcements for you this morning. First, the women's retreat registration is open. So if you plan on attending that if you would like to ladies, you can register out in the foyer. They're set up there to take your registration for that.

And if you register by March 10th, there's a five dollar discount on that registration. And then second, there is a choir practice after church today. About 15 minutes after the service is over. If you would like to sing in the Resurrection Day choir, you're going to meet in this room at the back of the sanctuary.

And that is for ages 12 and up. Twelve and up. Will you please turn now to Colossians chapter 3 for the scripture reading. We're going to read together the first 17 verses. Colossians chapter 3. Colossians 3 beginning at verse 1.

Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is. Seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience. And in them you also once walked when you were living in them. But now you also put them all aside. Anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive speech from your mouth.

Do not lie to one another since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the one who created him.

A renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free man. But Christ is all and in all. So as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other.

Whoever has a complaint against anyone just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body and be thankful.

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you with all wisdom and teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Will you stand with me as we pray? Let's bow our heads. Our Father, it is your great mercy toward us that has called us out of darkness and into light, gathered us here together as your children, as your chosen ones, saved and sanctified and secured through the work of Christ.

It is your mercy that has lavished such grace upon helpless and doomed sinners, which we were. We thank you that our salvation and our righteousness depends not upon the righteous deeds which we have done, but according to your mercy and by your mercy, the salvation that you have bestowed upon us in Christ.

We thank you that our righteousness has been secured by another, the Lord Jesus Christ, that our sin has been paid for through his death on the cross, that our justification has been secured by his resurrection, that our security and eternal glory has been secured by the keeping of his intercessory work for us.

We are thankful that you have saved us and that you have called us with a holy calling. And as your people, we come before you each and every Lord's Day to confess our need, our iniquity, our failings, and to look to you for grace and strength and consolation.

We come to you for the encouragement that we need to press on in this world, to mortify the deeds of the flesh, to put off the old man, and to walk in newness of life. We pray that you would accomplish that in us through the work of your spirit, by your word.

We pray that you would be glorified through our worship and that you would strengthen us to sing with full hearts and full mouths to give praise and glory and honor to you, our great triune God, for all your work of salvation in saving and keeping us.

Thank you and praise you for your great grace and bless this time together today around and through and by your word, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.

As wounds which mar the chosen one He suns to my sin upon His shoulder. A shame has caused my sin Until it was accomplished. His dying breath has brought me life. I know that in anything Jesus Christ is death And resurrection is reward.

I know it hath paid my price.

In Psalm 90, verses 13 to 17, it reads Return, O Yahweh, how long will it be And be sorry for your slaves O, satisfy us in the morning with your lovingkindness That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Make us glad according to the days you have afflicted us In the years we have seen evil. Let your work appear to your slaves And your majesty to their sons. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us And establish for us the work of our hands Establish the work of our hands.

Join us as we sing together from Everlasting, Psalm 90.

God, before the mountains were brought forth. For days of spring and summer filled the earth. From everlasting You are God. We dwell beneath the stars in ancient skies. A thousand years are nothing in your sight.

From everlasting You are God. Days are held within your hands. Your perfect love and favor have no end. We rest within the wisdom of your plan. And loss reminds us life is but a sigh. From everlasting Days are held within your hands.

Within the light of light our ways are known to you. But by your grace you're making all things new. So satisfy us in our numbered days. Establish every effort while we wait. From everlasting You may be seated.

We turn now please to Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13. We'll read together verses 1 through 6 And then we'll ask the Lord's blessing upon our time. Hebrews 13 beginning at verse 1. Let love of the brethren continue.

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers For by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember the prisoners as though in prison with them Those who are ill treated Since you yourselves also are in the body.

Marriage is to be held in honor among all. And the marriage bed is to be undefiled For fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Make sure that your character is free from the love of money Being content with what you have.

For he himself has said I will never desert you nor will I ever forsake you. So that we may confidently say The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. What will man do to me. Let's pray together. My father we come now to your word With the confident expectation That in the opening of your word And in the unfolding of your word You will shine light of truth Upon our hearts and upon our souls.

We pray that in the unfolding of your word That your spirit would work within us Conforming us to the image of Christ Showing us our sin Encouraging us where that is necessary And giving us understanding in your word That we may give and present to you Hearts of obedience and love.

We ask this in Christ's name.

Amen.

Covetousness as a Heart-Level Vice

Well there is no vice That ought to be more foreign to a Christian Than the vice of covetousness. And there is no virtue That ought to be easier for the Christian to cultivate Than the virtue of contentment.

And yet scripture continually reminds us To not be covetous And instead to be content. And that is because the love of money Covetousness is a universal threat And a universal sin Inside the heart of almost every person.

Now let me correct that Not almost every person Inside of every person Whether we recognize it or not. Whatever that degree is The various manifestations of it Covetousness like pride Can be present within us Without us even realizing that it is there Or even realizing what forms it has taken.

It manifests itself in many ways. It robs us of our joys. It distracts our hearts from the settled Peace and comfort and contentment Which ought to be the lot And the enjoyment of every single believer.

And so we are here warned about this In this next subject that the author takes up In Hebrews 13 as he is applying The truth of our kingdom's citizenship To our hearts and our lives. Chapter 12, verse 28 and 29.

He says, therefore, since we have received A kingdom which cannot be shaken Let us show gratitude By which we may offer to God An acceptable service with reverence and awe. For our God is a consuming fire.

And then he begins to apply The truth of the first 12 chapters. In this 13th chapter as he addresses The various loves and affections That we have or ought to have And corrects some of the love And affections that we ought not to have.

So we're told in chapter 13, verse 1 That we are to love the brethren. Chapter 13, verse 2 That we are to love strangers. 13, verse 3 That we are to love prisoners. 13, verse 4 That we are to love our spouses And honor our marriage.

And we ought to be corrected Against the inordinate Or lustful love or affections That ought not to have any place In our hearts Like sexual immorality Which would defile the marriage bed. And then he encourages us To examine our hearts for Covetousness and to be content In all things.

These are the qualities That should mark kingdom citizens. And there is a connection Between verse 4 and verse 5. Verse 4 deals with sex And the role of it. And verse 5 deals with money. These things, both of them Reveal the inordinate desires And lustful affections Of the human heart.

The defilement that we are warned against In verse 4 has to do with Affections that are driven By physical lust. Lust for physical things And the covetousness That is corrected in verse 5 Deals with the love of money.

Both of these are disordered Desires or affections. The law author here Is addressing two things That cause tremendous damage In the lives of God's people. It is difficult to think of Two things that have wrought More destruction in ministries Churches, families And lives and souls Than an inordinate lustful desire For flesh And an inordinate lustful desire For things that we do not have.

Covetousness and sexual immorality Poison and destroy Everything that they touch Everything. It is not possible to Host these two sins And these two lusts Within the human heart Without it utterly ruining Everything inside of our lives.

1 Timothy 6 verse 10 says. The love of money is a root Of all sorts of evil. And some, by longing for it Have walked away from the faith And pierced themselves through With many griefs. It is the love of money Which itself is a cause Of men piercing themselves Through with many griefs.

And of course An apostasy Which the author in Hebrews Has warned us against Time and again. Both of these vices Are often found together In scripture. It is not difficult To find passages Where sexual immorality And covetousness Are addressed side by side Because they come from The same heart issue Which is A discontentment And a dissatisfaction With what God has provided God in His grace Has given something to us.

And even if that is singleness Which means celibacy And sexual purity. Or whether that means A spouse And a right outlet. For that God-given desire God provides something And we corrupt it. And the same thing With physical things God provides the things That we need in our lives.

He gives to us the things That we need for our sustenance. And it is an inordinate desire Which takes those good things And desires something more Something on top of it. So Ephesians chapter 5 Verses 3 -5 Immorality Or any impurity Or greed Must not even be named.

Among you.

As is proper among saints There must be no filthiness Or silly talk Or coarse jesting Which are not fitting But rather giving a thanks. For this you know With certainty That no immoral Or impure person Or covetous man Who is an idolater Has any inheritance In the kingdom of Christ And God In the passage That we read earlier Colossians chapter 3.

Therefore consider The members of your earthly Body as dead To immorality Impurity Passion Evil desires And greed Which amounts to idolatry. Do you see how these things The sexual immorality And the greed They are found together In scripture.

It is because they are Often found together In the same heart. These sins Both of them Can be hidden from others. And that's scary Simply because of how Destructive they are In the lives of God's people.

And then both of these sins Destroy the testimony of Christ And wreak havoc Wherever they are found. And therefore it should not Be surprising To see these two things Sexual immorality And covetousness Addressed in Colossians In close proximity to one another.

And it's somewhat humbling To have to read In a passage of scripture A warning against covetousness. Because as I'll try it again As I said at the beginning. As I said at the beginning There is no virtue Which ought to be More easily cultivated In the life of a believer Than the virtue of contentment.

When you think about What contentment is And what we have been given This should come naturally to us. But it doesn't. And there's no vice. There's no vice Which should be more absent From the life of a believer Than covetousness.

And yet we are warned Time and again About this virtue And this vice. Spurgeon said this. And I have I quoted it up. Four quotations from Spurgeon. There was part of me That wanted to get up here today And just read the passage And say now Go read Spurgeon's sermon On this text.

Because it is better than Anything I could give you. And then I could just Close in prayer. And we could all leave here 45 minutes ahead of schedule. But I have four quotations Here from Spurgeon. Some of them are a little long But they're worth listening to.

Here's the first. Spurgeon says this. Is it not deeply humiliating Beloved friends That the best of Christians Should need to be cautioned Against the worst of sins. May the consecrated Become covetous.

Is it possible That the regenerate May drivel into misers. Alas what perils surround us. What tendencies are within us. Although a man may be A sincere believer In the self-sacrificing Jesus Yet it is necessary To say to him Let your character be free From the love of money.

Covetousness is a vice Of a very degrading kind. And it is therefore The more surprising That those who have A renewed nature And in whom the Spirit of God dwells Should require to be warned Against bowing down Their souls before it.

But such is the necessity That once again The saints are warned Against covetousness Which is idolatry Of all the sins That you and I Might be prone to. Covetousness is the one That seems quite odd And out of place In the life of a believer.

Let me give you a few reasons why. First, because our life Consists in another world. This is Colossians chapter 3. Set your mind on the things of heaven. Our life consists In another world. Our Savior is not here physically.

Our inheritance is not here. Our destiny is not here. Our reward is not here. Our glory is not here. The people that we love And we're going to spend eternity with Are not here. Well I mean other than The people who are here are here.

But I mean all the saints That have gone before. They have all gone on ahead And we're going to get to spend Eternity with them. And our life consists In another world. We are waiting for a kingdom That is to come.

A city that is going to come. Whose maker and architect And builder is God. A city that has foundations. Everything here is a shadow Of what is to come. And we know the end of this world That everything that we possess And everything that we touch And everything that we handle And everything that we work for Ultimately in this world Is going to be burned up That is the physical things here.

The rewards and the things That we earn and that are Of spiritual significance. Those go ahead of us to eternity And so those aren't even here. And everything in this creation Is going to be consumed In a fiery judgment.

We can take nothing with us. And we know that this life Is short. It is uncertain Any one of us could die today Or tomorrow Or this week. We have no guarantee That any one of us Is going to be here a week from now.

And yet as fallen creatures We plan as if we are going to be here And rule this little patch of turf For all of eternity In this life. And we know the nature of wealth And riches in this world Where we are warned in Proverbs 23 Verses 4 and 5.

Do not weary yourself to gain wealth Cease from your consideration of it When you set your eyes on it It's gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings And like an eagle Flies toward the heavens. So our entire faith Is premised upon the principle That everything that is of value to us Is in the world that is to come That is as fundamental To the Christian view of reality As anything else that we believe.

The hunger for this world Materially Since this is all we know Can easily grip our hearts. And so we have to be warned Against the love of money And against covetousness. Because you and I Can be tricked into thinking That the shadows of this life Are actually better Than the reality Of the life that is to come.

Because we live in a culture And in a world Where everyone around us Is grasping at this world Trying to get as much As they possibly can. And as Spurgeon said It is hard to live in a place Where greed grasps all And not be tempted To clutch a little for ourselves.

In other words When everyone around you Is rabidly collecting Everything that they can And storing up treasures here It is difficult for us To resist the temptation To join in the game. Because covetousness and greed Is like a gravity force That draws the hearts Of all people toward it.

And then when everyone around you Is accumulating things And they are working for this life It is easy for us to get distracted And to think that we ought To join in with them. So thus we need this warning About the love of money And covetousness Which we find in verses 5 and 6.

And I'm going to give you An outline here for these two verses. We notice three things here In these two verses Verse 5 and verse 6. First, there is a vice That we are to cast off That is covetousness.

A vice that we are to cast off. Make sure that your character Is free from the love of money. The text says. Second, there is a virtue That we are to cultivate.

Namely contentment.

Being content with what you have. And then third, there is a verity That we are to cherish Which is God's companionship. A vice that we are to cast off. Covetousness. A virtue that we are to cultivate Contentment.

And a verity that we are to cherish Which is God's companionship. And you know how this works With an outline that good. There's no way I'm spending All three of those points In one Sunday. So we'll just see how far We get with that today.

Sorry, you will see how far We get with that today. I already know how far We're going to get with that today. Notice two things. First, in verses 5 and 6 There are two quotations From two different Old Testament texts.

Verse 5 says I will never desert you Nor will I ever forsake you. And verse 6 is the result To that truth That verity of God's Continual companionship. Therefore we have the confidence To say the Lord is my helper I will not be afraid What will man do to me.

And second, I want you to notice That there is language here That is similar to the language That we used last week With putting off and putting on. There is a conduct, a behavior A lifestyle that we are to Cast off, to put off That is covetousness.

And then there is conduct That we are to take up That is contentment Which should be there. So we are to stop being covetous We are to start being content. And then there is a truth That is to inform our minds In that process.

And that's the quotation In verses 5 and 6 The truth that God is with us Continually. And therefore we can say That we have the confidence That we need to fear Absolutely nothing. So let's look first of all Now at this vice That we are to cast off Which is covetousness.

It says in verse 5 Make sure that your character Is free from the love of money. The King James has a bit Of a different translation. And if you are in one Of the older translations King James And I think the New King James Renders it the same.

Let your conversation Be without covetousness. That's a little bit different Than let your character Be free from the love of money. You can see the overlap Between love of money And covetousness. But it might be a little Bit more difficult for you To see the connection Between conversation And character.

The word that is translated As character in the NASV Or conversation in the King James Is the word tropos. And it has kind of A wide range of meaning. All of these meanings Kind of overlap one another.

They are very similar. It can refer to Your way of life Your manner of life Your course or the path Of your life. It can refer to The way you conduct yourself Your turn Your mode Your deportment Your way of speech Your way of behavior Your means of living The path that you choose Your way Your customs Your routines Your modus operandi.

You can see why The translation of character Would fit in well with this. Because your character Kind of defines Or describes And sort of sets the course For the rest of your life. But this word describes More than just one's character It describes also Our way of thinking And our affections Our speech And our language Our day to day living.

A better translation would be Make sure your entire Manner of living Is free from the love of money Not just your conversation. The words that you say And not just the way That you think. But make sure that Your entire way of living Is free from the love of money.

Far reaching implications of this. This describes then Our use of our time Our view of work The way we approach leisure The way we approach rest. Our savings Our spending Our investing Our buying And our selling Is all incorporated under that.

Now let me make application here To something that Probably you've never heard. This applied to before. It also applies to our voting If it is covetous For me to take my neighbor's stuff And use it as my own.

It is covetousness That motivates for me To vote for someone To take my neighbor's stuff And give it to me. Do with that what you will. But the entire reparations movement Is built upon nothing but covetousness.

I want his stuff. So I will elect somebody To take his stuff And give it to me. That's covetousness. And therefore I never, ever, ever Vote for somebody Who would promise me to do that. The love of money The word love of money here Is the word Afilaguros Afilaguros.

You hear three different words in there Afilaguros Which is the word for silver. It literally means Without the love of silver. We've seen the word.

Afilaguros.

Used with the love of strangers The love of the brethren The love of prisoners, etc. We talked about that love Here we have an inordinate Or a disordered desire And that is the love of money Or the love of silver.

It's used twice in the New Testament This word 1 Timothy 3, verse 3 Where it is used to describe An elder who must be free From the love of money. The same word is used there. The phrase lovers of money Is used as a description Twice in the New Testament Once of the Pharisees In Luke 16, 14 And once of men Of what would characterize men In the end times.

2 Timothy 3, verse 2 For men will be lovers of self Lovers of money Boastful, arrogant, revilers Disobedient to parents Ungrateful, unholy, etc. So it is a It is a character flaw. It is an inordinate love Or lust or desire For other things That will characterize people In the end times.

And it is something That we are here warned against. Now loving money Is only one form of covetousness. In fact, when you read The word covetousness In other places in the New Testament It is a different word That is used Than the word that is used here.

There is overlap between Loving money and covetousness. Covetousness is the heart desire Or attitude That manifests itself In a love of money It desires something That it does not have. But money is not the only way That covetousness can manifest itself.

There are other things That can be the objects Of this disordered desire This perverse heart passion Which we call covetousness. So I am going to use Covetousness and the love of money Somewhat synonymously this morning Because there is overlap here.

But I am going to expand this Because I really want to diagnose Beyond just the love of money The heart attitude Which motivates the love of money And a hundred other ways That we spend our passions And give our passions to things That are not appropriate.

So for the sake of our purpose here We can deal with these two together. So let me define covetousness.

Generally speaking.

And you can see how this describes The love of money. Covetousness is the disordered Desire of the heart That manifests itself In the endeavoring to acquire And possess more than God Is pleased to give us.

It is the attitude of the heart Which desires to possess And enjoy more than God has been pleased to give us. In other words, God has circumscribed The parameters of my life. And I have and enjoy all of this.

And then I say, but I want more Something that is outside of that. That is the heart attitude Of covetousness. It is an attitude of discontent A desire for things A longing for them. And it is the setting of our hearts And affections on them.

Whether we possess them or not It is possible to be covetous Of what other people have. And it is also possible for you To have a strong inordinate Sinful passion for the things That you actually possess.

Because just because you possess them Does not make covetousness go away. Something has to happen to the heart For the covetousness to Be cast out. And money is not the problem. But it is the love of money.

It is the love of money. Money is a tool, it can be used It can be abused, it can be misused. But when money becomes the object Of our affections and our desires And we have an inordinate desire for it Or a strong lust after it.

That is when covetousness Reigns in our hearts. You know that there are some believers In both the Old and New Testament Who are very wealthy Wealthy beyond the imagination of many of us. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, Solomon, etc.

In the New Testament it is the same. Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy man. There are wealthy people in both Testaments. The problem is not money. That is not the issue. It is the blessing of the Lord that makes one rich.

And he adds no sorrow to it,. Proverbs says If you have things that God has given to you Then that is God's blessing upon you. We recognize the hand that has given us Those blessings. But is the love of covetousness.

Or sorry, the love of money Is the love of those things in our heart. This is a little bit more difficult To diagnose and to answer. Coveting is so sinister And so secret That it can reside in the heart of a person.

And that person not even know it. To quote Spurgeon again. Spurgeon tells a story of somebody That he had this conversation with. And here is what he says. Spurgeon says, I asked a question some years ago Of a person whom I believed to be One of the most covetous individuals In my acquaintance.

And I received from him a singular reply. I said, how was it that St. Francis de Sales Who was an eminent confessor To whom persons went in the Romish church To confess their sins Found that persons confessed to him in private All sorts of horrible sins Such as adultery, drunkenness and murder.

But never had one person Confessed the sin of covetousness. I asked this friend whether he could tell me why it was. And he gave me this answer Which certainly did take me rather aback. He said, I suppose it is because The sin is so exceedingly rare.

Spurgeon says, blind soul. I told him that on the other hand I feared the sin was so very common That people did not know when they were covetous. And that the man who was most covetous of all Was the last person to suspect himself of it.

I feel persuaded that it is so. And then Spurgeon goes on to say. Covetousness breeds insensibility in the heart A mortification or a deadening in the conscience And a blindness in the mind. It is as hard to convince a man of it As it is to make a deaf ear Hear its own deficiencies.

It's so common I think that's an insightful diagnosis. It can exist and sometimes in the most Powerful and passionate ways Without the person in whose heart it exists Even realizing that it is there It is universal.

Covetousness is. And there are none that are immune to it. None that are exempt from its temptations. It can reside in the heart of the rich And the poor alike. Some people think that only the rich are greedy.