Let Your Conduct be without covetousness

Heb 13:5 - Let your conduct be without covetousness, be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said I will never leave you nor forsake you.

We discussed being content yesterday in church from Phil 4:11. Contentment is a state of being and Paul states in Phil that he had learned to be content in all things and in every place. Are you content today? Contentment can be defined as the experience of satisfaction and being at ease with one's situation. In the above verse the writer of Hebrews is encouraging the believer to be content with such things as you have. As a Christian we should live our lives in a state of contentment because God is our provider and He is in control of our lives. The verse also shows the exact opposite of contentment which is to covet or be covetous. Covetousness is a greedy desire to have more or to not be content in what you have. The 1oth commandment is thou shalt not covet. Covetousness is a state of being and a result of a life that is controlled by the flesh and it's appetites. In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were not content with all that God had provided for them in the Garden, they had to have more. The Devil tempted Eve by getting her to look at the things that she didn't have instead of what she did have. She began to covet the thing that was forbidden by God. She began to covet the thing that her flesh told her would bring her satisfaction but ultimately would bring her destruction. The children of Israel did the same thing in the wilderness. God provided Manna from heaven and water from a rock but they craved the food that they didn't have. Their cravings caused them to doubt God and His provision and they began to look back into the place of bondage rather than enjoy the place of freedom. God has provided a garden and manna from heaven that will satisfy every soul. His name is Jesus Christ.

In John 6:35 Jesus said "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst". Jesus is God's provision for contentment. No matter what the circumstance is in your life He will never leave you nor forsake you. This is what the end of verse 5 says. To be filled with Jesus is to be content and to not be covetous. Everyday he is the manna from heaven. God has filled us up wit the Holy Spirit. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we are filled with contentment and peace. Through the power of the Holy Spirit the flesh that covets is crucified. The question today is what are you being satisfied with. If it is Jesus than Hallelujah. If it's everything but Jesus than you will never be satisfied and in the end your covetousness will send you to hell. May we all be found being satisfied with Jesus and not our circumstances in life.