tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121431583518594249.post398462522589007285..comments2023-12-21T03:52:53.128-05:00Comments on victim of relentless affection: Unveiling the deceptive spirits of "mammon" and "commerce"Chuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09756514260897484486noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9121431583518594249.post-75885892592799367422016-05-23T02:57:47.810-04:002016-05-23T02:57:47.810-04:00Related stuff on coveting by Bob Deffinbaugh...&qu...Related stuff on coveting by Bob Deffinbaugh..."Covetousness is something which our culture seems to value, and which the church has become accustomed to, even catering to it instead of condemning it. I honestly believe that if coveting were to immediately cease in America, our economy would be in shambles. Madison Avenue incites us to covetousness, and credit buying enables us to buy what we don’t need and can’t afford. If coveting stopped, our economy would collapse. Coveting therefore seems to be one of those “sacred sins” which we dare not tamper with.<br /><br />Competitiveness is another of the foundational elements in American society. We will hardly consider hiring or promoting anyone who does not have great ambition, but at its roots, ambition is built upon the competitive desire to do better than his neighbor so that we can have what he or she has: their position, their prestige and power, and their pleasures.<br /><br />With covetousness so interwoven into the fabric of our society, one would expect that the church would be condemning covetousness, especially among the saints, as the Old Testament prophets did. This is seldom the case. Instead, the church treads softly on matters of covetousness.<br /><br />Worse yet, the church has come to accept covetousness as one of the “givens” of our culture, and has gone so far as to capitalize on covetousness by appealing to this illicit desire to motivate people to serve and to give. The “gospel of the good life” is one form of this error. We tell people that if they “do things God’s way” God will wonderfully bless them and prosper them. We tell people that God’s desire is to prosper everyone, if they will simply follow God’s prescribed guidelines for success. We appeal to men’s covetousness when we present the gospel, making it sound as if discipleship were the key to success and prosperity. We minimize the cost of discipleship or its demands of self-denial and self-sacrifice. We speak only of its benefits and blessings."<br />Chuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09756514260897484486noreply@blogger.com