Even if we have everything we could ever want or need, when we die, our goods will do nothing for us. Because of wealth, the fool believes he has no need of God.

God has made it possible through His Spirit for us to be optimistic and happy even in a world that seems to be crumbling around us.

Covetousness is an insatiable desire for worldly gain and lies at the heart of where most sin originates. The tenth emphasizes man's relationship to man.

Jesus' Parable of the Treasure in Matthew 6:19-21 is designed to get us to evaluate the relative values of material wealth and 'treasures in heaven.'

Prosperity is not always an emblem of God's approval. God will not prosper us if it would cause spiritual damage, insulating us from seeking His kingdom.

God desires far more for us than mere satisfaction: He wants to give us real contentment, a state that comes only through a relationship with Him.

Everybody has the carnal habit of accumulating stuff, cluttering up both our physical surroundings, as well as the inner chambers of our minds.

Coveting begins as a desire. Human nature cannot be satisfied, nothing physical can satisfy covetousness, and joy does not derive from materialism.

The easiest way we can avoid worrying is to keep our eyes intently focused on the goal Jesus gave us, the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Anxious care and foreboding are debilitating and faith-destroying. Meditating on what God has already done strengthens our faith and trust in God.

There are three basic causes for discontentment and three strategies to contentment, enabling us to emulate the apostle Paul's content state of mind.

Everyone is out to acquire as much as possible for himself. The tenth commandment, however, governs this proclivity of human nature, striking at man's heart.

Having anxiety, foreboding and fretting about food, clothing, and shelter, or being distressed about the future, demonstrates a gross lack of faith.

When we ask to be blessed, it should be exclusively on God's terms. What God has done in our lives is the best preparation for our future responsibilities.

The best way to attain true wealth and the abundant eternal life is to loosen our grip on worldly rewards and treasures, and single-mindedly follow Christ.

Wisdom can be defined as doing the right thing at the right time in the right way to the right measure. Wisdom is not given as a whole, but incrementally.

Our love for beauty must be coupled with love for righteousness and holiness. Our relationship with Christ must take central place in our lives, displacing all else.

'Affluenza' describes the bloated insensitivity caused by trying to keep up with the Joneses, the stress caused by doggedly pursuing the American Dream.

The true source of joy does not consist on any worldly commodity, or any self-centered, hedonistic pursuit, but instead a spiritual gift, bestowed by God.

The prince of the power of the air is responsible for influencing the zeitgeist (dominant mindset of the time), pulling us away from God and His law.

The people to whom Amos writes have the mistaken assumption that because they have made the covenant with God, they can bask in a kind of divine favoritism.

We must fight against the world's pulls (including advertising), simplifying our lives, seeking quiet to meditate and build a relationship with God.

Jesus taught that all outward sin stems from inner inordinate desire. What we desire or lust after automatically becomes our idol.

The prophecy of Micah had a delayed effect, taking many years before a reformer emerged on the scene. Jeremiah's life was spared because of the memory of Micah.

Laodiceans are enthusiastic about being rich, becoming wealthy, and needing nothing. Life is good. They are content. They are zealous for the wrong things.

The story of Esau and his selling his birthright for a bowl of soup is a cautionary tale for today. What we treasure will ultimately determine our destiny.

We should not seek material rewards under the New Covenant, though God may sometimes bless us physically. Our focus should be on spiritual rewards.

The letters to the seven churches of Revelation warn of losing our first love, heeding false teachers, compromising God's Truth, and forgetting right doctrine.

Our biggest danger at this time is to be lured into spiritual drunkenness by the pagan Babylonian system. Our God is not what we say we worship but whom we serve.

We must cleanse not only our physical spaces, but our minds, schedules, and hearts—removing distractions, negative thoughts, and emotional burdens.

Because we live in a troubling world, our reserves of joy are probably somewhat low, perhaps making us feel that we are deficient in God's Holy Spirit.

Solomon ruminates about life being seemingly futile and purposeless. A relationship with God is the only factor which prevents life from becoming useless.

Coveting—lust—is a fountainhead of many other sins. Desiring things is not wrong, but desiring someone else's things promotes overtly sinful behavior.

Lust begets a guilty conscience, agitation, anxiety, depression, grief, torment. Wrong desire leads to lying, adultery, and murder—eventually leading to death.

Because God is completely just, we have an obligation to be content with what He has given us, to allow Him to use us for whatever purpose He desires.