Draining Desires
Introduction
I’m sure many of you were saddened by the recent death of Bob Hope. And if you’re old enough to remember Bob Hope, then you no doubt remember another legendary comic, Jack Benny.
Although in real life, Benny was known as a very generous man, his comic shtick was an extreme cheapskate.
In one of his skits, he is confronted by a robber who pulls a gun and yells, "Your money or your life!"
He pulls one of his characteristic long pauses, until the robber asks impatiently, "Well?"
Benny says, "Don’t rush me, I’m thinking about it."
Obviously, if you have to think about whether you’d choose to give up your money or your life, you probably have some practical experience with the subject of today’s sermon.
This morning we are covering the LAST of the 10 Commandments: “Thou shalt not COVET.”
The word “covet” just means to want or desire something – which is how our Good News Bible translates it. We don’t often use the word “Covet” in everyday conversation.
It is associated so strongly with this commandment that we just assume if someone DOES say they “covet” something, we assume it’s something bad.
My World Book defines “covet” like this: Covet, 1. to desire eagerly (something that belongs to another) 2. to wish for, especially eagerly; long for.
In the Hebrew, the word implies that the person not only wants or desires a thing, but that they will take some action to get it.
It’s the word that’s used when Eve sees that the forbidden fruit is “pleasing to the eyes and desirable to eat.” So, since she desired it, she took it.
If you’re around little kids much, you know that wanting something leads pretty quickly to finding a way to get it. As soon as you hear, “I want that!” you know somebody’s going to be making a grab for something. As we mature, we hopefully get a little better at not having to immediately grab every single thing we think we want.
But it is still true that desiring something is usually the first step in acquiring it – and the greater the desire, the harder we’ll try to get the thing that we want.
As one commentator said, “desire” is in itself a neutral word. It is only when misdirected to that which belongs to another that such “desire” becomes wrong.
This commandment confronts us with our own priorities. What are you living for? To keep up with the neighbors? I love that it’s your neightbors’ stuff (and spouse) we’re warned about, because that really is where our resentments often come in. I don’t get jealous of Bill Gates, because his level of wealth is beyond what I can even imagine. It’s when I see a nice, new SUV around town, I think, “Boy THAT would be nice to have!” Sometimes I even start trying to figure out how I could acquire one of my own. But of course, it doesn’t take much figuring before I decide that my car is JUST FINE!
The problem with coveting is that we set our hearts on the wrong things.
C. S. LEWIS - Weight of Glory: If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he can not imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
It isn’t that God wants us to squash all of our desires for good things. It’s that He wants us to desire things that will last, not things that are fading away.
Eugene Peterson translates 1 John 2:15-17 this way:
Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. [The Message]
As we’ve studied the 10 Commandments, we’ve tried to “turn the negatives around to positives,” so that we can see not just what sins we should avoid, but what positive qualities God wants us to develop.
Instead of false testimony, we should seek and speak the truth.
Instead of stealing, we should work and give.
Instead of adultery, we should cultivate faithfulness
Instead of murder, we should work to protect the life and health of others, as well as our own.
And in place of coveting, we need to learn contentment. The Hebrew word for being content is often translated as “satisfied.” A frequent promise of God is that His people will “eat and be satisfied.” That is, you can eat as much as you want. You can eat until you’re full.
Imagine Thanksgiving dinner, surrounded by Turkey and mashed potatoes and vegetables and pies – all our favorite dishes. You sit down at that meal and you don’t get up until you are satisfied, until you’re full. Maybe we end up eating PAST just being full and find ourselves as stuffed as the turkey! And when you push back from that table, you’re satisfied – you’re content with what you’ve had and you don’t even want any more – or at least “Not right now!”
Can you see how being satisfied is the very opposite of covetousness?
Covetousness says, “MORE! MORE! MORE!!”
Contentment says, “I have enough.”
But go back to the Thanksgiving dinner for a minute. What happens if you just go ahead and stuff yourself? Once it “hits,” you feel rotten, don’t you? And what’s the first thing you want to do? Lie down and sleep. You don’t want to move, you CERTAINLY don’t want to help with the dishes. You have that sort of groggy feeling and you wish you’d stopped eating sooner!
The Bible tells us that something similar happens to us when we overload on “stuff.” It makes us sort of numb spiritually. Our priorities get turned upside down. Things become more important than people. Money becomes more important than life itself.
I read a story this week. See if you can guess who wrote it.
When I was 13, my dad owned his own business—a tiny shack where he sold chicken, ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, and fries. One day the oil that the chicken was fried in caught fire. In a few minutes the whole place exploded in flames. My dad bolted from the store before the flames could engulf him.
Then my mom and I arrived on the scene, and we all stood outside watching the fire burn away my dad’s business. All of a sudden, my dad realized he had left his money in the metal cash register inside the building, and I watched in disbelief as he ran back into the inferno before anyone could stop him.
He tried to open the metal register, but the intense heat had already sealed the drawer shut. Knowing that every penny he had was locked in front of him about to go up into flames, he picked up the scalding metal box and carried it outside. When he threw the register on the ground, the skin on his arms and chest came with it. He had escaped the fire safely once, untouched. Then he voluntarily risked his life and was severely injured. The money was that important.
That was when I learned that money is obviously more important than life itself. From that point on, earning money—lots of money—not only became what drove me professionally, but also became my emotional priority.
Any guesses? It’s from a book written by Suze Orman. If the name isn’t familiar, her face might be. She is a popular writer and speaker on financial issues and I’ve seen her at least a few times on PBS. She is a striking, blonde woman, who has a lot of good things to say about money. She is able to mix her financial advice with some insights into what makes us happy or not so happy. She is said to give about 25% of her income to charitable causes
This story is taken from a book entitled Nine Steps to Financial Freedom. I haven’t read the whole book, but I hope she explains that "financial freedom," doesn’t just mean making a whole pile of money. Because no matter how big the pile is, if your security is in money, you’re not financially free. If you find your security in money, then it is your master -- and you are in financial bondage, not financial freedom.
If you believe that “money is more important than life,” if “earning money – lots of money” is what drives you professionally and is an emotional priority, than you are not financially free. You are financially bound.
No matter how much money you have, if you make money your security, you are standing on very shaky ground.
The biggest problem with using money for our security isn’t even what will happen if we lose it all. The biggest problem is if we don’t lose it all. Because if we lose it all, we’ll be forced to conclude that our priorities were as bankrupt as are now.
The biggest problem with relying on money as our security is what it does to our soul. Jesus said that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also (Matthew 6:21).
So, where does that say your heart is? How would you answer this question –
If our spending patterns, then, are an indicator of where our heart is hot and where it is not, at what level would missions register compared to soft drinks?
Conclusion
If you’ve been in my office, you may have noticed that among my books I have this little red Matchbox car. And if you took a look at it, you’ll see that inside the box is a little sign that says, “Think Jaguar!” Kind of a strange ornament in a pastor’s office, don’t you think?
That little car was given to me by a women’s Bible Study group I led several years ago. They gave it to me because I had told them that I’d made a little deal with God. Now, I’m not real big on making deals with God, because – let’s face it – we’re not equals and God doesn’t owe me anything. But it’s kind of a tongue in cheek deal, so I think it’s ok.
Here’s the deal: I like nice cars. One day, I saw a red Jaguar and I thought, “Whoa! What a car! I would LOVE to own that car!” But immediately the thought came to me: Even if I could ever afford it, I would never buy it. There are too many people in need, there are too many ministries that need support.
Not to mention the fact that just driving a car like that would make people look at me and think, “Wow! She’s rich! She must be somebody really important!” It would cater to my pride, and my desire to impress people. Having a Jaguar would damage my soul. Maybe some people can own Jaguars without having their soul damage, but I could not.
So I said, “Look God, I’ll tell you what. I’m never even going to try to acquire a Red Jaguar (or any other color for that matter), because here on earth, I want my focus to be on Your Kingdom, on Your Work. I don’t want to give my life away to a car that, while it’s beautiful, is still going to be a pile of rust someday. But how about giving me a Red Jaguar when I get to heaven? Now that sounds pretty silly – a Jaguar in heaven. A Jag might look pretty shabby on streets of gold!
But that was my way of saying, “Lord, I’m not home yet.” I’m not going to use up my life wishing for possessions. I’m going to set my heart on what’s eternal, not on the things that are passing away.
