keep your eyes open and guard against every sort of covetousness, because even when a person has an abundance his life does not result from the things he possesses.''--Luke 12:15 ... :rose:
A good reminder to keep our priorities in order. Coveting is spoken of very harshly in the Bible. It is not for Christians but actually impeeds Christianity because it interferes with what is most important in the life of a Christian--Love and Love of Neighbor :heartbeat: :rose:
some scriptural council regarding coveting and covetousness: :rose:
Faith is involved... :rose:
''Let your manner of life be free of the love of money,
while you are content with the present things. For he has said,
''I will by no means leave you nor by any means forsake you.''
Hebrews 13:5 :rose:
and here we have the apostle paul referring to covetousness as idoltry ... :rose:
''Deaden, therefore, your body members that are upon
the earth as respects fornication, uncleanness, sexual appetite,
hurtful desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.'' Colossians 3:5 :rose:
''For from inside, out of the heart of men, injurious reasonings issue forth; fornications, thieveries, murders, adulteries, covetings. acts of wickedness, deceit, loose conduct, an envious eye, blasphemy, haughtiness, unreasonableness. All these wicked things issue forth from within and defile a man.'' Mark 7: 21-23....Interestingly covetousness can lead to all of these bad things..... :rose:
''For you know this, recognizing it for yourselves, that no fornicator or unclean person or greedy person--which means being an idolator--has any inheritance in the kingdom of God.'' Eph. 5:5 Idolatry again :love: :rose:
It is not so easy to handle riches and once we place too much importance on them it seems to sacrifice spiritual things too many times..... :rose:
''but the anxieties of this system of things and the deceptive power of riches and the desires for the rest of the things make inroads and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. Mark 4:19 :rose:
and finally :heartbeat: :rose:
''To be sure, it is a means of great gain, this godly devotion
along with self-sufficiency.
For we have brought nothing into the world, and
neither can we carry anything out.
So, having sustenance and covering, we shall be
content with these things. :rose:
However, those who are determined to be rich fall into
temptation and a snare and many senseless and hurtful
desires which plunge men into destruction and a ruin.
For the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious
things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray
from the faith and have stabbed themselves all oveer with many pains. :rose:
However, you, O man of God, flee from these things. BUt pursue
righteousness, godly devotion, faith, love, endurance, mildness
of temper......1 Timothy 6:6-12 :rose: (much better things to focus on :heartbeat: ) :rose:
Have a wonderful evening friends--love you all :heartbeat: :grouphug:
keep your eyes open and guard against every sort of covetousness, because even when a person has an abundance his life does not result from the things he possesses.''--Luke 12:15 ... :rose:
A good reminder to keep our priorities in order. Coveting is spoken of very harshly in the Bible. It is not for Christians but actually impeeds Christianity because it interferes with what is most important in the life of a Christian--Love and Love of Neighbor :heartbeat: :rose:
some scriptural council regarding coveting and covetousness: :rose:
Faith is involved... :rose:
''Let your manner of life be free of the love of money,
while you are content with the present things. For he has said,
''I will be no means leave you nor by any means forsake you.''
Hebrews 13:5 :rose:
and here we have the apostle paul referring to covetousness as idoltry ... :rose:
''Deaden, therefore, your body members that are upon
the earth as respects fornication, uncleanness, sexual appetite,
hurtful desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.'' Colossians 3:5 :rose:
''For from inside, out of the heart of men, injurious reasonings issue forth; fornications, thieveries, murders, adulteries, covetings. acts of wickedness, deceit, loose conduct, an envious eye, blasphemy, haughtiness, unreasonableness. All these wicked things issue forth from within and defile a man.'' Mark 7: 21-23....Interestingly covetousness can lead to all of these bad things..... :rose:
''For you know this, recognizing it for yourselves, that no fornicator or unclean person or greedy person--which means being an idolator--has any inheritance in the kingdom of God.'' Eph. 5:5 Idolatry again :love: :rose:
It is not so easy to handle riches and once we place too much importance on them it seems to sacrifice spiritual things too many times..... :rose:
''but the anxieties of this system of things and the deceptive power of riches and the desires for the rest of the things make inroads and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. Mark 4:19 :rose:
and finally :heartbeat: :rose:
''To be sure, it is a means of great gain, this godly devotion
along with self-sufficiency.
For we have brought nothing into the world, and
neither can we carry anything out.
So, having sustenance and covering, we shall be
content with these things. :rose:
However, those who are determined to be rich fall into
temptation and a snare and many senseless and hurtful
desires which plunge men into destruction and a ruin.
For the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious
things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray
from the faith and have stabbed themselves all oveer with many pains. :rose:
However, you, O man of God, flee from these things. BUt pursue
righteousness, godly devotion, faith, love, endurance, mildness
of temper......1 Timothy 6:6-12 :rose: (much better things to focus on :heartbeat: ) :rose:
Have a wonderful evening friends--love you all :heartbeat: :grouphug:
wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wolfie! :heartbeat:
when we covet, it is more than an illicit desire for something (we could call that materialism). it is an illicit desire for something to which we have no right. as was stated in the mosaic law: "do not covet your fellowman's house or his cattle or his wife." (not necessarily in that order.) but the real point is that when we covet, we are engaging in a premeditative savoring of stealing.
coveting brings about a devastated conscience, mental duress, internal anguish, dissatisfaction, plotting and scheming. all things that have nothing to do with a healthy relationship with god and christ; and certainly have nothing to do with true worship.
contentment, on the other hand, just as you mentioned (from 1 timothy, chapter 6), amounts to knowing the peace of god and that of christ as they dwell within us and cause good fruitage to issue forth and overflow.
when we think about it, who wouldn't choose contentment over covetousness? when we simply listen to god's suggestions for us and implement them, we always avoid "stabbing ourselves all over with many pains."
iso
thank you so much for those additional thoughts iso--looking at covetousness in it's deepest meaning it becomes clear why it is listed with such bad things----and as you say--peace of mind--priceless :love:
have a wonderful day today friends--the salt mines are calling me :love::grouphug:
Good morning lil sis p-nut and brother iso:
This is so perfect for me today, Wednesday the 24th! A dear friend and neighbor finally came into big bucks he's been waiting for over ten years, and the first thing he did was go out and buy for himself 2 brand new cars! :shocked: Within a couple of days he was so stressed out by all the hi tech gadgets we had to learn to operate his new "toys", plus having to decide which car to use when to go where, he ended up in the hospital! Why would anyone want to "covet" any of that???
I'm very happy for him and his plans include buying a horse ranch in Colorado, and he's invited me, my personal care giver, and a few others for an all expense paid trip to visit, for which I'm grateful, but I find myself trying to "rein" him in and just wonder do I really have his best interest at heart by telling him to slow down and to make sure that what he's attempting to do all at once is not "wise", or is it best just to let him alone to do and buy the "dreams" he's wanted all his life and enjoy the ride with him :confused:
I know someone "out there" has some good advice for me, coz Jah and Jesus' sheep always have an opinion :D
Much Christian Love to You and ALL :grouphug::heartbeat::grouphug:
sis
p.s. my friend is 70, has a pacemaker and I do "hover" over him :blush:
Thanks, Wolfie and Isomam!:love:
Good morning lil sis p-nut and brother iso:
This is so perfect for me today, Wednesday the 24th! A dear friend and neighbor finally came into big bucks he's been waiting for over ten years, and the first thing he did was go out and buy for himself 2 brand new cars! :shocked: Within a couple of days he was so stressed out by all the hi tech gadgets we had to learn to operate his new "toys", plus having to decide which car to use when to go where, he ended up in the hospital! Why would anyone want to "covet" any of that???
I'm very happy for him and his plans include buying a horse ranch in Colorado, and he's invited me, my personal care giver, and a few others for an all expense paid trip to visit, for which I'm grateful, but I find myself trying to "rein" him in and just wonder do I really have his best interest at heart by telling him to slow down and to make sure that what he's attempting to do all at once is not "wise", or is it best just to let him alone to do and buy the "dreams" he's wanted all his life and enjoy the ride with him :confused:
I know someone "out there" has some good advice for me, coz Jah and Jesus' sheep always have an opinion :D
Much Christian Love to You and ALL :grouphug::heartbeat::grouphug:
sis
p.s. my friend is 70, has a pacemaker and I do "hover" over him :blush:
Dear Sis Llee:love:,
We were we both in the same place, at the same time. I get a kick out of it, you just never know who you are going to bump into and when. LOL.:giverose:
I've seen the horrors of people with money. Unfortunately, in my younger days I was a good example of a gold digger. Even plotting to meet and manipulate men with money. Boy, oh boy did I cause myself a lot of grief! I made out with child support from two different fathers but nothing but grief from the relationships.
I'm almost 40, now and I was going through family pictures making scrapbooks and consolidating my life....I realized my relationship were doomed from the start. If I didn't go for the boss of the company or seek out a rich man working in a club (yeah, I did)...if I had been true to myself and what was really important, I would have saved myself from "the stabbing" of myself (and of course the damage to my children). When I was younger, I was scared, emancipated at 16..I thought going for the money was security. I was a serial engagement girl, one person after another..wrapping guys around my finger...
The most damaging emotion that I felt when around men with loads of money is a sense of haughtiness. Feeling superior and 'smarter' than others. Instead, I was nothing but a 'kept woman' or concubine and a trophy for the men. Although, I married one of the fathers..it was still the same mentality. Being married didn't change that the relationship started on false pretenses, not genuine love of the person. Trust me, my ex said he dumped his previous girlfriend for me being I was a better 'model' like I was a car!
Now, to your friends problem....First, let me give you an idea that maybe you can relate to your friend. My husband does not have money and if he received a million dollars he would buy a million dollar yacht and not have the money for gasoline. Its, true, he's even said it! Makes no sense to my mind! But, I pray that he never has money because I know how stupid he would be with it. He's the kind that would go to a bar and buy the 'house' drinks for the night not care, just wasteful and foolish. My husband WANTS to feel like the BIG DOG! He desires it so much.
Your friend is going through a transition. The stress of our new gadgets is enough just making ONE purchase. Cell phones, cameras, laptops, cars...ALL stressful. I've made several of these purchases this past week with my income tax return. I don't have money, so each purchase had to be made to the best lasting outcome. Its really stressful buying products for me because I see how fast the world is progressing and these products are not 'friendly' to us and our environment. The faster we 'gobble' up what's on the earth the faster we tilt things to a scary future, IMO(its a nightmare for me). How many radio waves and chemicals does it take to ruin our bodies and earth? Yet, our world keeps moving in this direction.
I'll pray for your friend, Llee. Unfortunately, until he realizes that "slowing" down is better than racing, he may stumble a few times. Some people understand sooner than others. Material value disinigrates but love endures all things. Your friendship with him may be the vein that Jehovah and Jesus uses for the whisper in his ear. So stay strong, be gentle and be ready to 'catch' him with encouragement. A helping friend is most valuable. Suggest reading Ecclesiastes when you can. I got my husband to read it by telling him that it was written by King Solomon the wisest of all men before Jesus. This way the holy spirit does the whispering to him, instead of you.:heartbeat:
With Love to you and yours, Debbie
hi Sis llee :cheekkiss:
It is really scarey what can happen when someone comes into a windfall. I saw a program once following big money winners and most of them were worse off than before. Startling really. A couple of them were homeless after having had millions and millions of dollars... It would seem we really aren't necessarily meant to handle material fortunes as most don't do it well. Then, coveting sets in and their friends and family turn on them--or resent them for having so much while they struggle. IF you were inclined to give your friend some advice maybe having someone help him manage this --a real expert--would benefit him and give him some good ideas regarding these financial times everyone is facing...enjoy your vacation tho--sounds like a wonderful gift to you--xxxxxxxxx
hey, sis llee :clap: always sooo good to hear from you! :thumbsup:
if your friend asked for my advice, i would tell him not to make a single move (that he hasn't already made) for six months. I know he's 70 and no doubt a little impatient -- no, make that a lot impatient, -- but anyone with his best interests in mind would try to protect him ... from himself :shocked: ... right now. he wants to think about legacy, grandchildren, trusts, wills and stuff like that in addition to his own 'here and now.' you can remind him of these things, 'cause you're a good friend to him. :ok:
love to you and all, sis lee :love: iso...
Good morning Everybody:
Wow! Thank you for giving me sooo much to think and pray about overnight.
Sis Debbie, Sis Wolfie, Brother Iso: "BIG DOG", that's him alright and I was embarassed by his pride while showing off his new toys :blush: Right now reading anything from the Bible is the furthest thing from his mind. I mentioned "praying" and he waved me off! If this were a "romantic" relationship it would be over 'bout now by his boastful behavior! He really needs to be counting his blessings for having missed what was going through my mind at that moment :rant: Helping him "spend" some of his $$ won't be a problem. Helping him spend some of it wisely is the thing.
I remember watching part of that program, sis Wolfie, and those folks were miserable! Part of my friend's problems now are due to listening to the "experts" for over ten years and now he wants no advice from anyone!
As far as his family goes, bro Iso, he "claims" he wrote them off years ago, but yet had me help him search "google" for one of his sons just last month. So a will is what I've suggested, only to get a very dirty look! :angry: I'll keep trying though! :cheer:
Sooooooo.....at this point he just wants to pay for his horses and his ranch, which he "found" online :help: :shocked: and ride off into the sunset. At least he hasn't just wired folks this $$, yet, but that was one plan I did manage to change his mind about so now he's going to Texas to "meet" the horses he's picked out and then to Colorado to at least "see" his ranch before paying for it! :funnyface:
Thank you Jah and Jesus!!! Thank you friends for taking the time out of your busy day for your help. Didn't mean to be a distraction.
Much Christian Love to You and ALL :grouphug: :heartbeat::grouphug
sis