When we gave the grandkids a bath last week, Lucy got to the mesh bag of bath toys before I did, and picked out all the rubber duckies and her other favorites before handing the rest to her baby brother. It didn't even bother Freddie; he doesn't know the difference between rubber duckies and plastic boats. But Granddad didn't miss the opportunity to teach "sharing." Lucy relinquished some of the duckies she admitted looked more like "boy ducks."
Our Bible study this week is on greed and coveting. Adult versions of not sharing our rubber duckies. My children have both spent time ministering in third world countries--Caitlin and Layne spent two years in the Dominican Republic and Chris and Chanda just moved from Laos to Thailand. Their experiences opened my eyes to just how spoiled we are in the United States. We're all rich in the United States. And yet the poor can covet too.
While doing the lesson, I realized covetousness is about something much deeper than rubber duckies or ferraris or diamond jewelry. At the bottom of Lucy's need to have all the rubber duckies is her need to feel completely loved--a feeling that was threatened by the presence of a little brother with whom she has to share her parents. Of course she is loved just as much as before, and having a younger sibling will help her grow in ways she couldn't as an only child.
I have a deep need for unconditional love, too. The only one who can give me this love is God. I may try to get it from people, but they will disappoint me. And I may feel disappointed in God when He allows things in my life that seem uncomfortable and difficult, even if I reluctantly acknowledge they may help me grow.
I think we will only overcome covetousness when we realize that no thing and no one can take the place of God in our lives.
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