Topical Bible: Covetousness is Vanity

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Covetousness, often understood as an intense desire for wealth or possessions, is frequently addressed in the Bible as a moral and spiritual issue. The concept of covetousness being vanity is rooted in the understanding that such desires are ultimately futile and empty, leading individuals away from the true purpose and fulfillment found in God.

Biblical Definition and Context

The term "covetousness" is derived from the Greek word "pleonexia," which signifies a greedy desire to have more. In the Old Testament, the Tenth Commandment explicitly warns against coveting: "You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor" (Exodus 20:17). This commandment highlights the internal nature of covetousness, distinguishing it from mere actions and focusing on the desires of the heart.

Covetousness as Vanity

The notion that covetousness is vanity is particularly evident in the wisdom literature of the Bible. Ecclesiastes, attributed to Solomon, explores the theme of vanity extensively. In Ecclesiastes 4:4, the Preacher observes, "I saw that all labor and all success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind" . Here, the pursuit of success driven by envy and covetousness is deemed futile, akin to chasing the wind—an endeavor that yields no lasting satisfaction or meaning.

New Testament Teachings

In the New Testament, Jesus warns against covetousness in Luke 12:15: "Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" . This teaching underscores the emptiness of defining one's life by material wealth, emphasizing that true life is found in spiritual richness rather than earthly accumulation.

The Apostle Paul also addresses covetousness, equating it with idolatry in Colossians 3:5: "Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry" . By linking covetousness to idolatry, Paul highlights its deceptive nature, as it places material desires above God, leading to spiritual emptiness.

Moral and Spiritual Implications

From a biblical perspective, covetousness is not merely a personal failing but a spiritual danger that can lead to other sins. James 4:1-2 illustrates this progression: "What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you? You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it" . Covetousness can breed discontent, strife, and even violence, disrupting both personal relationships and community harmony.

The Antidote to Covetousness

The Bible offers contentment and trust in God's provision as antidotes to covetousness. Hebrews 13:5 advises, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: 'Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you'" . This assurance of God's presence and provision encourages believers to find satisfaction in their relationship with Him rather than in material possessions.

In summary, the biblical portrayal of covetousness as vanity serves as a caution against the empty pursuit of material wealth and possessions. It calls believers to seek fulfillment in God, recognizing that true contentment and purpose are found in a life aligned with His will.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Psalm 39:6
Surely every man walks in a vain show: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heaps up riches, and knows not who shall gather them.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Ecclesiastes 4:8
There is one alone, and there is not a second; yes, he has neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labor; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither said he, For whom do I labor, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yes, it is a sore travail.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Of the Stink of Lechery and the Peril of Touching: and of the ...
... it is shown that he was strongly bound with a foul band of feeble vanity. ... and dry,
it alway increases its heat; and from the fire of covetousness kindles the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/rolle/the fire of love/chapter xxiv of the stink.htm

He.
... [5170] ...If therefore our heart be not inclined to covetousness, we fear God ... to
expound are, "O turn away mine eyes, lest they behold vanity: and quicken Thou ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/he.htm

The Tenth Commandment
... Solomon had put all the creatures in a retort, and distilled out their essence,
and behold, All was vanity.' Ecclesiastes 2:11. Covetousness is a dry dropsy ...
/.../watson/the ten commandments/2 1 the tenth commandment.htm

That God's Lover Forsakes the World, Idleness and Irksomeness: and ...
... that they have so great thought that all this world is but vanity, that, as ... lying
in wait, in as mickle as they are aware; and hiding covetousness under the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/rolle/the fire of love/chapter x that gods lover.htm

Tenth Commandment
... Aren't they vanity? Does he have peace of mind? Don't selfish riches always bring
hurt? The folly of covetousness is well shown in the following extract: "If ...
//christianbookshelf.org/moody/weighed and wanting/tenth commandment.htm

The Image of the Earthly and the Heavenly
... so that a man has no pre-eminence over a beast; for all is vanity. ... We do not care
to spend our time in eating and drinking, mean covetousness, ambition, and ...
/.../kingsley/all saints day and other sermons/sermon x the image of.htm

The Pure in Heart
... of them, from thinking about oneself; from lusting and longing after this and that;
from spite, vanity, bad temper, wounded pride, disappointed covetousness? ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/the good news of god/sermon xvi the pure in.htm

Ananias and Sapphira.
... back part of the price of the land?" His crime is traced to the instigation of Satan,
who had filled his heart with vanity, covetousness, dissimulation, and an ...
/.../dick/lectures on the acts of the apostles/lecture vi ananias and sapphira.htm

Of the Despising of the World
... The more covetousness, the less charity. ... of this life; death sicker; the chance of
death unsicker; the stableness of everlastingness and the vanity of things ...
//christianbookshelf.org/rolle/the fire of love/chapter ii of the despising.htm

Wandering Thoughts
... 2. The case is the same in other instances: Pride, anger, revenge, vanity, lust,
covetousness, every one of them occasions thoughts suitable to its own nature. ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 41 wandering thoughts.htm