With wealth man thinks he can be self-sufficient, first of all economically, then spiritually. The power that comes from wealth gives man a false confidence that blinds him to his own condition and need. Men, who tend to trust what is tangible, see wealth as a source of safety, and genuine needs can then become covetous. Paul names only food and clothing as conditions necessary for contentment. We must be careful to note it is how one regards wealth or why one desires it that is the real issue.
Covetousness is the immoral desire for wealth by unlawful means.
The desire for wealth can become all-consuming. And yet, poor souls, they deceive themselves, and cry out against the rich, as if they were the only lovers of the world, when they love it more themselves though they cannot get it. Our Savior, indeed, doth not speak of impossibility, but of the difficulty of it and the rareness of it. Job unfolded the riddle, and got through the needle's eye with three thousand camels. But it is hard to be wealthy, and not wanton.