Beware of covetousness!

April 16, 2026

Beware of covetousness!

Rabbi Schneider was talking about covetousness on his show the other day, Discovering the Jewish Jesus. He described many examples, I saw and remember a lot of that from my job before retiring. So many jealous, envious, and insecure and they try to take yours and your success as theirs. I had it happen several times over the years. People took my work and did a book chapter on it, but never gave me my credit, we were supposed to do an article and I shared in good faith with this person, but they never produced, just took my work, and pass it on as their own, all for a book chapter, which had all my research mostly from my dissertation. Ironically, this same person resigned shortly after as she was plagued with migraines and illness and could not work anymore, I never knew about what they did until a few years after the fact. This happened a lot in my position in higher education at the university. Another lady took my work and put her name first, but I did all the work, she got greedy and covetousness for her promotion, it was bothersome, but many will stoop to anything to covet others and their work. Many over the years did this to me for sure related to my research agenda. Even many of these people got gossipy and created so much pain for me when I retired, all out of jealousy, envy, and insecurities. I saw a real change before and after some left the institution, they talk bad about others, gossip, and try to hurt other fine people all because of covetousness. Coveting is a deep-seated desire or longing for something that belongs to another. We see this a lot today within our society, people see others with a certain cellphone, tattoo, social media, music, clothes, etc, then they want them too, it is such a crazy world today all the coveting of so much, wanting what the other has, but it really is all sin. It is not merely an external act but an internal disposition of the heart. The sin of coveting is primarily concerned with the intentions and desires that lead to other sinful actions. Many wars have been started so others could obtain what another country had. On and on the list could go of activities and problems spurned by the sin of coveting. We even see this today with all the illegal immigration throughout the world today, people are not happy where they are from, they think it is better somewhere else, they can make more money or have more things, so they break the law and enter other countries illegally, they then break a lot of laws, and unfortunately, they either become a victim of crime or become a criminal due to the circumstances, it is not healthy to want to covet things or places of others, our world is so chaotic now too because of it all. Coveting is sin no matter what is desired; be it money, fame, clothing, toys, houses, bicycles, education. It is the breaking of God's Commandments. The 10 Commandments tell us not to covet (Exodus 20:17). Coveting, a sin inextricably tied to our want, is a corruption of what was created in us to be the mechanism that draws us to the Lord. Many forget God, Jesus, and become consumed by things of this world, material goods, they become slaves for Satan instead, we see this with so many people and situations. Our want is the door through which we enter into satisfaction in God. Biblical Meaning and Examples of Coveting In the commandment that tells us not to covet, the emphasis is on the condition of our hearts. God used everyday examples from that time, such as coveting a neighbor's house, wife, ox, or servant, to show us that we should not greedily long for anything that does not belong to us. Coveting turns our focus away from God. The Tenth Commandment serves as a timeless reminder to cultivate contentment, integrity, and trust in God's provision. The Bible encourages healthy desires that align with God's will, fostering spiritual growth, righteousness, and love. Coveting can destroy us spiritually, even countries and societies. Colossians 3:5 warns us about covetousness, which is idolatry. We should put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within us. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don't be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of others, covetousness, it is alarming and sad. As humans we need to be careful of our wants for what others have, I saw so much of that at my job and today in our society, especially from the foreign hires who had problems with language, accents, cultural issues, it was harder for them to write and be successful, it created a lot of jealousy, envy, and it was all from their insecurities. I saw a lot of people with so much covetousness, gossip, greed, and jealousy, they wanted what someone else had, success writing, teaching awards, good relations with their students, they stirred up a lot of problems between people, it was not always nice to be around, so I can see and understand why covetousness is sinful for sure. Covetousness is certainly something we all need to beware of we need to be careful not to want what others have or covet, it is hurtful and it brings that person down. In my case with my retirement, someone gossiped and spoke ill of me and made my retirement less than enjoyable due to this person's insecurities and hate. I always say, don't join a hate club for sure! Don't want what others have. Do your best to do what you want to do, making a difference as a person on this Earth School journey! These people never have a peace of mind, always worrying about what others have, hating others, and being jealous, envious, and letting their insecurities to rip the reputation of others unnecessarily. Beware of covetousness!