Presumably, those who are poor are as likely to covet as those who are wealthy. One might even think they are more likely to covet.
But where is there a story in the Bible about someone who is poor coveting something belonging to the wealthy?
I am thinking of David and Bathsheba and Ahab and Naboth’s vineyard.
Am I missing anything?
I need to think about it and do some reading, but at this point (feel free to shoot down in the comments) I wonder if it is a perpetual temptation of the rich to decide life is not worth living unless they can take something more from the poor.
This would explain how many poor people’s homes get declared blighted and sold to corporations.
I think the temptation on the part of the poor is just to “give up” and be resentful. It’s not the same sin as covetousness, but it is a sin nonetheless. I think about this sometimes when I’m traffic and I look over and someone is driving a 45,000 car. I never think “I wish that were my car”; I always think “the money that bought that car is a life-changing sum of money to me.” Being poor is degrading – everything costs more for the poor because they can’t buy in bulk and if they don’t have the money, even money costs more for them. Fear is the overriding feeling – fear of getting a ticket that would suddenly require grocery money to go to paying a ticket. Fear of getting sick, of having a dental problem, of breaking your glasses, of needing a car repair or a major appliance repair, of never even being able to fill up your gas tank. Finally, there’s just an overwhelming feeling of being a loser. It’s why poor people would prefer socialized medicine. The “quality of care” is not even an issue. What is an issue is getting judged all the time for not having health insurance. The poor were better off psychologically in the past. They were less comfortable, but there were also a lot fewer expectations. No phone bill to pay, trash service, sewer bill, water bill, etc. You just worked hard and ate what you had, longed for a better day, and died young. Now you just live a long time, in comfort, constantly wracked by anxiety. I’m amazed there isn’t more suicide.
Hmmm… those seem to be stories about those with the power to act on their covetousness, and therefore move on to theft and murder. I wouldn’t take that to mean covetousness is lacking in the poor. The point of covetousness is that it is in the heart, unseen by others apart from the fruit, so you wouldn’t expect to see as many stories about covetousness by those without the means to create big, public fruit from the thoughts of their heart.
That said, the two prostitutes that Solomon judged come immediately to mind. I’m sure there are others.
Good example Jay! Though I’m now wondering if there is a case to be made for talking about who is more likely to envy v. covet.
Snip: I think the temptation on the part of the poor is just to “give up” …..etc.
I’ve been there, and even if you do move up to the upper working class as God has been pleased to grant me, the anxiety never goes away–in an expensive place to live like a large coastal city, all it takes is one major emergency to wipe out all your savings or max out your credit cards, etc. (And if you have a bad year where an emergency occurs every month…)
I recognize that circumstances never excuse the sin of covetousness, but one can understand why someone would be tempted.