Day 6
“How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!” — Isaiah 14:12
Coveting, wanting something that isn’t ours, did not begin with the human race. The first episode of coveting was not Eve, craving the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but Satan, the father of lies, the master of deceit and deception.
Satan was called ‘Lucifer’, which means ‘morning star’, and he was the most beautiful of all angelic beings God created. Ezekiel 28 describes him as the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. Every precious stone adorned him and from the day he was created, he was blameless in all his ways. Then wickedness was found in him. His heart became corrupt and he said, “I will ascend on high; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned in the mountain of the assembly on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14). Satan coveted what didn’t belong to Him, God’s position of supreme authority. Consequently, God hurled him down to earth, along with a league of angels who joined in his rebellion.
Discontentment is the disease of the devil, and one he makes contagious in us! When Satan tempted Eve, he began, “Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1). Is there really a prohibition here? The fruit was pleasing to the eye and desirable for gaining knowledge. Satan had planted enough doubt in Eve to make her question God, and both Adam and Eve took what didn’t belong to them.
The devil’s tactic is to tell us that everything isn’t enough. We start to want what others have, even though acquiring it will not make much difference in our lives, other than to fill and drive our lust for greed. In 1 John 2:16 (NKJV), John lists three areas that are not of God, but of this world. Satan introduced all three to Adam and Eve, and all three; lust of the flesh (they wanted to taste the apple); lust of the eyes (appeared good to eat); pride of life (will make them like God) seemed to offer them something better than what they already had. Instead, their action changed the course of humankind and separated us from the life of God.
Coveting began in the heavenly realms, a spiritual disease with crushing consequences. It is contagious. Make sure you don’t have it!
Prayer: Dear Lord, I want to be content with my lot in life and thankful for everything you have given me. Guard me against the lust of the eye, the flesh, and especially the pride of life. Keep me always humble before you. In your precious name, I pray. amen.
To reflect upon: Is there an area of my life where I am not really content with what I have? How can I safeguard against temptations that build me up instead of God?