That wonderful carrot hangs out there on a stick by a string, just taunting you. You want it. Bad. But the stick and the string hold it just out of reach. How do you overcome these obstacles?
One of the obstacles that I see in the lives of Christians is the word covetous. We don't want to be covetous. Coveting is wrong. It transgresses the tenth of the Ten Commandments. We wouldn't do that. We won't do that.
But perhaps we have a wrong understanding of what it means to covet?
Let's look at the Bible verse:
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's." (Exodus 20)
I believe the key word here is neighbor. It's okay to desire a wife, just not your neighbor's wife. It's okay to desire an ox to help with the plowing, but it's not okay to want your neighbor's ox.
Do you see the difference? It's okay to desire a position within the company, just not your co-worker's position!
People with a poverty mindset believe that there is not enough ________ (fill in the blank) for everyone. In their minds, if you own a million dollar house, you are somehow robbing the local food bank. They think that there is only 'so much' money in the world. But this is a lie.
This same mindset says that there is only one ox in the world that can do what I need - my neighbor's! And, I will have it! There is only one car in the world that nice - my neighbor's! And, I will have it! There is only one lifestyle that wonderful - my neighbor's! And, I will have it!
But God is a God of plenty, and there is more than enough for all. He has created us to desire, to strive, to long for something better; these are traits that HE has given us! Desire looks at the wealth of God's creation, the supreme possibility that comes from a loving Creator, and wants more.
And that's okay.
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