Turning

Earlier I mentioned that wanting someone else’s belongings, gifts, abilities, or looks is covetousness. And in response to thinking about it, we all confessed any sin we had hidden in our hearts and were forgiven. I also mentioned that I would talk some more about this area of life again now. And here we are.

As with most sins, there are actually two sins going on at the same time. Fixing one sin means fixing the other sin, again, at the same time. This works pretty well when we consider that repentance means to turn away from thinking about and participating in sin and turning to thinking and doing the right thing. Two birds with one stone.

So, what other sins are we committing when we covet? The Bible tells us to be content in whatever situation or circumstance we find ourselves (Phil 4:11). It also tells us to be grateful for everything and give thanks for everything (Col 3:15). It occurs to me that if we confessed our sin of covetousness, we should also confess our sin of not being grateful for what we have. If we confess our sin of covetousness, we should also confess our sin of not being content with what God has given us.

In keeping with this, when we repent, we turn away from covetousness by turning to gratitude. And we turn away from envy by turning to contentment. In fact, when we are tempted to be envious, we can fight against the temptation by remembering what God has given to us and rejoicing in that gift. We can use the temptation as a reminder to be grateful and to give thanks—to be gloriously content with, and even boast in, what we have.

The Table of the Lord is a perfect place to begin this turning, this repentance. As we observe the bread and the wine we have the perfect opportunity to give thanks to God and to settle in to being content for what he’s given to us. So, come and welcome to Jesus Christ.