"_They that will be_, (that is, desire to be), _rich fall into
temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which
drown men in destruction and perdition_."
The Bible speaks of the deceitfulness of two things--"the
deceitfulness of _sin_" and "the deceitfulness of _riches_." Riches
are like a mirage in the desert, which has all the appearance of
satisfying, and lures on the traveler with the promise of water and
shade; but he only wastes his strength in the effort to reach it. So
riches never satisfy: the pursuit of them always turns out a snare.
Lot coveted the rich plains of Sodom, and what did he gain? After
twenty years spent in that wicked city, he had to escape for his life,
leaving all his wealth behind him.
What did the thirty pieces of silver do for Judas? Weren't they a
snare?
Think of Balaam. He is generally regarded as a false prophet, but I do
not find that any of his prophecies that are recorded are not true;
they have been literally fulfilled. Up to a certain point his
character shone magnificently, but the devil finally overcame him by
the bait of covetousness. He stepped over a heavenly crown for the
riches and honors that Balak promised him. He went to perdition
backwards. His face was set toward God, but he backed into hell. He
wanted to die the death of the righteous, but he did not live the life
of the righteous. It is sad to see so many who know God, miss
everything for riches.
Then consider the case of Gehazi. There is another man who was drowned
in destruction and perdition by covetousness. He got more out of
Naaman than he asked for, but he also got Naaman's leprosy. Think how
he forfeited the friendship of his master Elisha, the man of God! So
to-day lifelong friends are separated by this accursed desire. Homes
are broken up. Men are willing to sell out peace and happiness for the
sake of a few dollars.
Didn't David fall into foolish and hurtful lusts? He saw Bathsheba,
Uriah's wife, and she was "very beautiful to look upon," and David
became a murderer and an adulterer. The guilty longing hurled him into
the deepest pit of sin. He had to reap bitterly as he had sowed.
I heard of a wealthy German out west, who owned a lumber mill. He was
worth nearly two millions of dollars, but his covetousness was so
great that he once worked as a common laborer carrying railroad ties
all day. It was the cause of his death.
"_And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against
the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw
among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels
of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I_
coveted them,_and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in
the midst of my tent, and the silver under it_."
He saw--he coveted--he took--he hid! The covetous eye was what led
Achan up to the wicked deed that brought sorrow and defeat upon the
camp of Israel.
We know the terrible punishment that was meted out to Achan. God seems
to have set danger signals at the threshold of each new age. It is
remarkable how soon the first outbreaks of covetousness occurred.
Think of Eve in Eden, Achan just after Israel had entered the Promised
Land, Ananias and Sapphira in the early Christian Church.