Covetousness

So why am I thinking about covetousness? Is God trying to make me aware of sin in my life? Haven't brought any to the surface but I will keep checking.

I looked up "covet" in an old dictionary (does anyone use books anymore) and found "to want passionately (esp., something that another person has); long for with envy."

Generally, I've thought of this as wanting the house, the car, the money someone else has. I've always associated it with wanting things. But I'm thinking a little differently today.

The grandkids and I went to bed about 10 PM Friday night but I was wide awake at 2:30 so I turned on the TV and found lots of infomercials for P90X and Total Gym and some ab thing and pills to take away your fat just like liposuction but without the surgery. That is what started me thinking about covetousness.

Healthy eating and proper exercise are necessary to have a healthy body but weight loss is a $60 billion industry in America. I think part of the reason we put so much money into this industry is covetousness. We covet the washboard abs we see in the commercials and the skinny bodies of the women in bikinis. So I have begun to think of coveting as applying to things that are more intangible like appearance.

Maybe we covet someone's ability to sing beautifully or paint a picture or live on a budget when we spend every penny BEFORE we get it.

I've decided that just because I don't want "stuff", I can still harbor covetousness in my heart over the intangibles.

(Another reason we pour so much money into weight loss is because we are a lazy people who like the idea of taking a pill or only spending "10 minutes a day" or "no dieting" rather than making the lifestyle changes we need to make.)