The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-07-24
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Subject: C~ovetousness.

Irving Square Presbyterian Church,
Hamburg avenue and VERIFIED
street, on the theme "Covetousness,"
the Rev. I. w. Henderson, pastor,
took al 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.
~Covetousness 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
it's 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 it's 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. It
is selishness compounded and the
handspring of energy in the grab
ber's life. It's fruit is sin and it's
oCAuS - oPP11tA05
Covetousness must not be con-
founded with honest desire to emu
late good example. Covetousness
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 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
1t 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 lot in life may
be a blessing or a 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-
tent of q Bismarck-that Is to say,
the covetousness-gave to the world
the scourge Of the Franco-Prussian
war as the price Of Prussian predom-
nance and of united Germany. Rus
STA wishes Asia for a province all
her own and 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 Spectator on the street mad
dened with the lust for wealth plum
ders 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 we'll.
Covetousness is contrary to the law
Of God and the commands Of Christ.
Righteous discomfort Is a boon to
humanity for without 1T 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; it brings distress; it is a
curse.
C~ovetousness Is %senseless, 1t is un-
wise. No man by taking thought
can annex his neighbor's property to
himself. The highroad to unhappi-
ness is founded, as much as 1t is
built upon anything, upon envy or
the other fellows fortune. Envy is
silly for it makes US sick with 1eal-
ousy and disappointment, the while 1t
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 or
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 a
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 it certainly is sin.
Then, too, to coyet is to undergo
distress. Think of the heart aches
and the head aches of those who Tor
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 I'M
priced happinesses is a thing uncared
for and unknown. The soul, the
heart, the mind, the every faculty.
of 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 afiame 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 well knows the
necessity of thou shalt not covet
thy neighbor's man servant" Too
often the surest way to down a rival
has been to lure away some trusted
employe who could draw away his
old employers trade. But in the
ethics Of many a business house this
is sagacity and not sin. The shop
girl is greedy for the ribbons and the
trinkets of the moneyed maid above