The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1907-06-28
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Subject: COvetousness.

Cne rev i. w. henderson, pastor,
took as his text Ex. 20:17, Thou
shalt not covet." He said
Timothy tells us that the love OF
money is a root OF all kinds Of evils.
Covetousness Is part of the soil in
which the tree OF evil is nourished
and out OF which il grows The child
of darkness and of the brood Of
greed, covetousness Is canker to
the soul. Born OF blackness, IL
makes dark the life that lis under
its control Where greed is and
covetousness abides are no more
found peace, purity, contentment,
quietude OF life. Before its evil
presence happiness is destroyed. I'm
der its goddess influence JOY and
peace are impossible. It will fiji
quiet life with turmoil and discon-
tent will rule.
Covetousness Is greed let loose. It
is selfshness compounded and the
handspring OF energy in the grab
ber's life. It's fruit is sin and its
consequences are appalling
CoVetOusness must not be con-
founded with honest desire to emu
late good example. Covetousness
and righteous discomfort are not one
Covetousness and manly ambition are
not similar. The man who looks
with greenish glinting eyes at his
neighbor's well deserved reward Is
no brother to the soul who longs TO
follow In the path of those who have
achieved success. However wrong
envy may be adiudged to be, the man
who wants to do and to become and
TO earn higher place in life, is wor-
thy Of all praise. To look upon tie
wealth and power and eminence OF
others with the evil eye is wrong, but
il is no less reprehensible than is
that unmanly. self-stultifying lack of
pure ambition and of noble aim
which Is characteristic OF so many.
Discomfort with our lot in life may
be a blessing or a bane. Dissatisfac-
tion with self and with success at
tained is a motive to larger and con-
tnued effort. Satisfaction and stag
nation are not far removed. Rlghte-
GUS discomfort incites to progress.
Unrighteous discomfort makes the
soul sick. The history OF the world
is the record of the discontent-good
or godless-of individuals and ma
tionS. The unrighteousness discon-
tent OF BismarCk-that is to say,
the covetousnesS-gav to the world
the sCourge of the Franco-Prussian
war as the price of Prussian predom-
nance and OF united Germany. Rus
sia wishes Asia for province all
her own and our news is full OF war.
Napoleon Is Covetous Of empire and
Europe is bloody as a shambles. The
wretched thief is envious of money
and your gold is gone. The well
dressed speculator on the street mad
dened with the lust for wealth plum
ders a host as hungry for shekels as
himself But opposite Napoleon
stands discontented Washington
fighting for his country's veal. Kos
ciusko, Garibaldi, Wycklif, Huss and
Luther, all rise up as discontented
men. The exalted dissatisfaction OF
our forefathers finds expression in
the country that we love so well.
CoYetousness is contrary to the law
of God and the commands Of Christ.
Righteous discomfort is a boon to
humanity for without it men would
never move ahead. But let us not
digress too much Covetousness is
the subject Of the tenth command for
good and sufficient reasons. 1t is
senseless; il brings distress; it is n
curse.
Covetousness is senseless IL Is un-
can annex his neighbor's property to
himself. The highroad to unhappi-
ness Is founded, as much as IL is
built upon anything, upon envy OF
the other fellows fortune. Envy is
silly for 1t makes us sick with jeal
ousy and disappointment, the while II
offers no relief The fact that your
neighbor is undeserving of his for
tune or has no real appreciation of
his benefits neither alters your posi-
tion nor remoulds his state of mind.
That other toiler's place Will not be
yours whether you are Covetous or
no. The other woman's clothes
might not become your style at all,
although they do look well on her.
But grit and go may put you in
higher place and make you peer with
him whom now you wish you were;
and taste with sense and little cash
may keep you in becoming clothes.
Covetousness of the other persons
clothes or place or wealth is sense
less and IL certainly is sin.
Then, too, to covet is to undergo
distress. Think of the heart aches
and the head aches of those who for
get their present blessings in jeal-
Gus contemplation of the other peo-
pies joys. The pleasure of the hour
lies unused The opportunities for
immediate happiness lie unnoticed.
The Joys of the fields and the skies
and the hills and the wales all are
forgotten. Life with its many un-
priced happinesses is thing uncared
for and unknown. The soul, the
heart, the mind, the every faculty
o. being, all are distressed and dis
eased with inordinate desire for the
other mans possessions. Woe be-
tide the man or the woman into
whose heart the devil OF envy enters.
For to covet is TO be aflame with sin.
Covetousness is a curse. The
courts are calendared with cases of
unholy lust for land. Love lies slain
in many a home because OF mar
riage ties undone. The jails are full
of men who coveted the property of
the other man a little bit too much.
The business world we'll knows the
necessity of thou shalt not covet
fhy nefghbOr'g man spryant" F" Too