The Penn's Grove record., 1907-06-28
Subject: Covetousness.

the Rev. I. w. Henderson, pastor.
took as his text Elk. 20:17, Thou
shalt not covet." He said:
Timothy tells US that the love of
money is a root of all kinds of evils.
C~ovetousness is part of the soil in
which the tree of evil is nourished
and out of which it grows. The child
of darkness and of the brood of
greed, ~covetousness is a canker to
the soul. Born of blackness, it
makes dark the life that is 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. 1t will fill a
quiet life with turmoil and discon-
tent will rule.
Covetousness is greed let loose. 1t
is selfishness compounded and the
handspring of energy in the grab
ber's life. Its fruit is sin and its
consequences are appalling.
Coyetousness must not be con-
founded with honest desire to EMU
late good example. C~ovetousness
and righteous discomfort are not one.
~Covetousness and manly ambition are
not similar. The man who looks
with greenish glinting eyes at his
neighbours 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 adjudged to be, the man
who wants to do and to become and
to earn a higher place in life, is wor-
thy of all praise. To look upon the
wealth and power and eminence of
others with the evil eye is wrong, but
it is no less re~prehensible 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 q bane. Dissatisfac-
ton with self and with success at
tanned is a motive to larger and con-
tinued effort. Satisfaction and stag
nation are not far removed. Righte-
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
lions. The unrighteousness discon-
SAit VI . Nh hCI 40 ~ ooJ .
the covetousness-gave to the world
the scourge of the Franco-Prussian
wal as the price of Prussian predom-
nance and of united Germany. Rus
STA wishes Asia for a province all
her own and our news is full of war.
Napoleon is covetous of empire and
Europe is bloody as a shambles. The
i wretched thief is envious of money
and your gold is gone. The well
dressed Spectator on the street mad
dened with the lust for wealth plum
Gers a host as hungry for shekels as
himself. But opposite Napoleon
stands disconnected Washington
fighting for his country's veal. Kos
ciusko, Garibaldi, Wycklif, Huss and
Luther, all rise up as disconnected
men. The exalted dissatisfaction of
our forefathers finds expression in
the country that we love so well.
Co~vetousness 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. C~ovetousness is
the subject of the tenth command for
good and sufficient reasons. 1t is
~senseless; it brings distress; it is d
curse.
C%ovetousness is senseless, it is un.
wise. No man by taking thought
can annex his neighbours property tc
himself. The highroad to unhappi.
ness is founded, as much as it is
built upon anything, upon envy oil
the other fellows fortune. Envy is
silly for it 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-
ton nor remoulds his state OF mind
That other toiler's place will not be
yours whether you are coVetous oil
no. The other woman's clothes
might not become your style at all
although they do look we'll on her
But grit and go may put you In
higher place and make you peer witt
him whom now you wish you were;
and taste with sense and little cast
nay keep you in becoming clothes
C~ovetousness of the other persons
clothes or place or wealth is sense
less and it 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 PEG
pies joys. The pleasure of the houl
lies unused. The opportunities fol
immediate happiness lie unnoticed
The Joys of the fields and the skie!
and the hills and the wales all are
forgotten. Life with it's many I'm
-,i1o1 ,o,@Ns,oera1 i1 n thing 1InnarnC
for and unknown. The soul, th'
heart, the mind, the every facult.
of being. all are distressed and dis
eased with in%ordinate desire for thu
other mans possessions. Woe be
ltide the man or the woman int
whose heart the devil of envy enters
For to covet is to be afiame with sin
.Coyetousness is a curse. Tn,
courts are calendared with cases o
unholy lust for land. Love lies slail
in many a home because of mar
riage ties undone. The jails are full
of men who coveted the property o
the other man a little bit too much
The business world well knows tn
necessity of thou shalt not cove
thy neighbours man servant" To'
often the surest way to down a riva
has been to lure away some trusted
employee who could draw away hi
old employers trade. But in tn
ethics of many a business house thi
IS sagacity and not sin. The shol
girl is greedy for the ribbons and tn
trinkets of the moneyed maid abov'
her and she sells her body, Will
she damns her soul to crafty he
whim. Covetousness is a curse.
But while there is admonition ant
a lesson for those who are guilty o
this stated sin there is also anothe-
lesson for our day which springs GU
OF this command. The careless, os
~tentatious, Unbalanced display o
wealth by those who possess it Is
sin. The ownership of property be
yond the average enjoins wise ad
ministration on the owner. The mai
at the top has a mighty regulativ'
influence upon the world of men be
meath him. If men are %covetous o
other peoples wealth, they are so
many times, because plenty ha
Haunfed itself so recklessly in tn,