I don't care about the money...it's all the stuuufff.
Sunday at Providence Church I preached on the 10th Commandment, the prohibition against coveting. The following are some notes & quotes, the latter of which were particularly complimented.(Click to Listen)
Alistair Begg ~ “The 10th commandment forbids wrong attitudes towards the possessions and position which other people hold. The 10th commandment teaches us to be content with what God has given us.”
Q: Why is coveting so bad?
- Coveting is the engine that drives many of our conflicts and sins. (cf. James 4:1-3)
- Coveting leads to discontent. Contentment and coveting are enemies.
Q: How do you keep from coveting?The secret is contentment in Christ.
- Contentment comes through a relationship with Christ, not circumstances. (cf. Phil 4:10-13)
- Contentment comes through an eternal perspective. (cf. Matt 6:19-21)
- Contentment comes through trust in our heavenly Father. (cf. Matt 6:25-34)
Unknown ~ “I had no shoes and complained until I met a man who had no feet.”
Augustine ~ "You have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they can find rest in you."
John Piper ~ “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”
Jeremiah Burroughs~ “Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.”
Oswald Chambers ~ “Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.”
Phillips Brooks ~ “I hear men praying everywhere for more faith, but when I listen to them carefully, and get to the real heart of their prayer, very often it is not more faith at all that they are wanting, but a change from faith to sight. Faith says not, "I see that it is good for me, so God must have sent it," but, "God sent it, and so it must be good for me." Faith, walking in the dark with God, only prays Him to clasp its hand more closely.”
Gunny ~ "Contentment and coveting are enemies."
Gunny ~ "Christianity is contrary to Marxism, but Christianity is also contrary to the dark side of Capitalism, namely greed/materialism."
Hartman Family et al ~ "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit."
Gunny ~ "God doesn't want me to have that? I'm okay with that, because I trust Him, knowing He has my good in mind." (cf. Rom 8:28)
The Rolling Stones ~ "You can't always get what you want. But, if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need."
Louis CK ~ “Everything is amazing right now and nobody’s happy.”
Edwin Starr ~ "War. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Say it again."
Pink Floyd ~ "With. Without. And who'll deny it's what the fighting's all about?"
Edmund Clowney ~ “Sin starts in our hearts before it slips merchandise into our pockets, with or without a credit card.”
Recommended Reading:
- Prov 30:7-9; Luke 3:14; Phil 1:19; 4:19; Col 3:1-2, 5; 1 Tim 6:6-10; Heb 13:5
- Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment
Labels: 10 Commandments, contentment, sermon
posted by GUNNY @ 06:49
3 comments
3 Comments:
Yoda: Attachment leads to jealously. The shadow of greed, that is.
Yoda: Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
Yoda: Named must your fear be before banish it you can.
Coveting is also the fear of losing what one already has, which of course reminded me of Master Yoda.
Another prime example of the results of coveting can be found in Gollum/Smeagol of Lord of the Rings lore.
Many erroneously think Yoda to be a "one-hit wonder" (i.e., "Do or do not. There is no try.").
Clearly, that is not the case, as Truck as single-handedly demonstrated, for which most grateful we are.
Coveting is at the heart of our flawed political system. I wonder who will win in tomorrow's election: the haves or the have nots.
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