2 Kings 5:19 But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.” So Gehazi followed Naaman. And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?” And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me to say, ‘There have just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’” And Naaman said, “Be pleased to accept two talents.” And he urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants. And they carried them before Gehazi. And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and put them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed. He went in and stood before his master, and Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.” But he said to him, “Did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence a leper, like snow.
Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet
Psalms 10:3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD.
Jeremiah 22:17 But you have eyes and heart only for your dishonest gain,
Habakkuk 2:9 “Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house
Luke 12:15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
1 Timothy 6:9-11 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
We covet most what we value most, what we believe to be good. Coveting is a reflection of our value system. No person covets what he believes to be of no value. Coveting is a desire. It is a matter of the heart, an attitude, a matter of strong emotion. Coveting is a consuming desire, a motivation so strong that the one who covets something will have it if there is any way possible to do so, Coveting is a deliberate desire, of which one is conscious, and for which one is responsible. Coveting is a devious desire that is complex and complicated, which is often well concealed. The heart, we are told, is deceitful and desperately wicked. We must expect that covetousness, which is a matter of the heart, is deceitful and deceptive, and that it may be well disguised.
It is seldom lack of knowledge of what is right (or wrong) which is the reason for man’s sin, it is his decision to desire the wrong things, and do whatever is necessary to have them. When a man decides to forsake his wife and family it isn’t that he doesn’t know its wrong, it is that he has no commitment to do what is right. The reason why we do the wrong thing, knowing it is wrong, is because we want (covet) it more than we covet what is right. Coveting what is wrong causes us to be willing to sacrifice what is right to attain what we want, even if it is sin.
We sin, not because we don’t know better, but because we desire to have what is wrong more than we desire to know God and to serve Him.
Unlike Christ, Christians today attempt to lead men to Christ by minimizing the cost of following Him. Throughout Jesus’ life, He refused to minimize the cost of discipleship. Jesus refused to commit Himself to those who were uncommitted. He gave no encouragement to those who would have half-heartedly followed Him. He said that those who would follow Him would have to deny themselves and take up their cross
Why is it, then, that we try to make discipleship so undemanding, so easily attained? Why are we reluctant to ask men and women to give up everything to follow Him? Why are we so timid as to only ask people to follow Christ conditionally? The great travesty of this is that it demeans the worth of our Lord. It suggests that He is not worthy of our total sacrifice of self and of self-interest. It is no wonder so many fall away when they finally realize the high price of discipleship.
If God is the greatest good, then He must be man’s highest goal. Whatever sacrifices a man must make to know God and have fellowship with Him is worth the price.