George Herbert Quote – 5 Ways Coveting Makes Christians Miserable

– George Herbert

Devotional: 5 Ways Coveting Makes Christians Miserable

You really have to understand that all the biblical commands are there for a reason. God doesn’t command us to refrain from doing something if it’s not for our own good and coveting can make you very miserable. When you’re always yearning for something that you for some reason or other cannot afford or just cannot attain, you are setting yourself up for misery. Here are five ways coveting make Christians miserable.

You View Life as a Destination Instead of a Journey

If you are driven by your desire to achieve something or to get something instead of enjoying life as a journey where every day you stop and smell the roses and give thanks to God, you view it as a destination. In other words, you won’t give yourself permission untill you reach a certain stage. You always tell yourself if I achieve X I will be happy. Well, you end up achieving X but on the way to achieving X you moved a goal post and say if I achieve Y then I will be happy. It never ends because you view life as a destination instead of enjoying the trip.

Nothing can Fill the Hole of Covetousness

Covetousness is like this eternally raging fire in you. Just like any kind of raging fire, it never really goes out. Regardless of the small stuff you throw into it, it just burns that stuff up and it needs more and more and more. If you live your life based on covetousness, nothing will ever be enough and there’s always something bigger and better around the corner. The only thing that stops this process is when you die. Not really a recipe for a life full of contentment, right?

You Will Never Run Out of People to Compare Yourself To

If you covet the stuff people have, you will never run out of people to compare yourself to. First, you compare yourself to the guy with a Toyota. You get a Toyota and then you compare yourself to the guy who has a Honda. You get the Honda and you compare yourself to the guy with the BMW. It never ends. There will always be someone, somewhere down the line that you think is better than you and you need to catch up to the person.

Things Like Social Validation Will Never Complete You

You might think that achieving some certain level of social respect and wealth will complete you, but this is a complete lie. The problem is that you can never really be completed when you’re trying to complete yourself with shiny things. People will never feel complete because things don’t have what it takes to truly complete you. Your sense of lack of completion can only be filled by the spirit. Why is it that many poor people are very happy, and so many rich people are very miserable? This really highlights the fact that if you let the Holy Spirit take over your life and produce the joy, you will feel a sense of contentment and completion. Your sense of completion can only be filled by the Holy Spirit.