Covetousness: The Trap That Steals Your First Love

Introduction

For several Sundays now, Efficient Church has been returning to the letter Jesus addresses to the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2: "What I have against you is that you have abandoned your first love." Pastor Celestin YAO says it plainly: someone can keep attending church, singing the hymns, going through the motions, and at the same time watch their heart grow cold. It becomes lukewarm, routine, distant. The fire from the beginning is no longer there.

In this message, the pastor asks a direct question: what are the traps that cause a heart passionate for Jesus to end up turning away from him? Having already covered religious routine, doubting God's faithfulness, the growth of lawlessness, scandals, polluted sources, and self-satisfaction, he now turns to an enemy as old as the world itself: covetousness.

Covetousness did not start with you. It started in Eden. And if you do not understand that, you will end up trivializing it. Yet this trap still turns whole hearts away from their First Love today.

Outline of the message

1. Covetousness: a trap as old as the world

Pastor Celestin YAO stresses this: covetousness did not begin with Adam and Eve in some minor moment of weakness. It appeared at the very heart of creation, in a garden where humanity had everything. God had made Adam a sovereign over the earth. He could eat from every tree, name the animals, cultivate, rule, and enjoy everything. Only one boundary was set for him: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That boundary was not a deprivation, it was a reminder: "You are not the Creator. Above you, there is God."

The pastor gives this picture: imagine an immensely wealthy man entrusts you with his entire island, with all its gold, its riches, its glory, and tells you only, "There is this one small room I do not want you to enter." If you force your way into that room, you cannot blame the owner. You had everything else. That is exactly what God did with Adam.

And yet a serpent, which was part of the creation subject to Adam, comes to speak to his wife. Do not forget: it was Adam who was supposed to guard the garden, not the serpent. The authority and grace God had placed on Adam are not to be taken lightly.

2. The serpent's strategy: sowing doubt and redirecting desire

In Genesis 3:4-6, the serpent sows two things. First, doubt: "You will not surely die... God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God." He presents God as selfish, jealous, repressive, secretive. He makes Adam and Eve believe they are missing out on something. But when someone comes to speak ill of the One who talks with you every morning and has given you everything, you do not have to entertain the conversation. "Done, get out," says the pastor. Even today, when the enemy comes to tempt someone who knows their rights and knows the Word, he does not get very far.

Then the serpent sharpens desire, but redirects it, no longer toward God, but toward something else. The woman then saw that the fruit was "good for food" (covetousness of the flesh), "a delight to the eyes" (covetousness of the eyes), and "desired to make one wise," the pride of life. All three forms of covetousness are already there, in a single verse. It is not just the act of eating: it is the desire that came before it, polluted by a lie.

3. Where the first Adam failed, the last Adam triumphed

The pastor then connects Eden to Matthew 4. What the first Adam failed to do in Eden, Jesus, the last Adam, must succeed at in the wilderness. Israel, God's firstborn son, failed in the wilderness. Jesus, the true Son, must triumph there. And Satan is waiting for him at exactly the same three doors.

Covetousness of the flesh: "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." Jesus is hungry, he could give in through hunger. He answers: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."

Covetousness of the eyes and presumption: Satan sets him on the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, about 50 meters high, with the crowd below. He even quotes Psalm 91: "The angels will bear you up." The pastor points out the trap: it is a shortcut meant to make people believe in the Messiah without going through the cross. Jesus refuses: "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test."

The pride of life: Satan takes him up a mountain and shows him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, riches, gold, silver, positions, honors. "Bow down and worship me, and I will give you everything." This time, Jesus calls him by name: "Be gone, Satan." Many destinies are lost at this very level: people have sold out their family, their soul, entered into occult practices for a position, so that everyone would talk about them.

4. Three forms of covetousness that feed our world

The apostle John lists the same three in 1 John 2:15-16: "Do not love the world... for all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life, is not from the Father but is from the world." God is not in the business of compromise. You cannot love God a little and love the world a little.

The pastor also quotes Galatians 5:19-21 to make covetousness of the flesh concrete: sexual immorality, impurity, pornography, idolatry (a child, a story, an event that takes God's place in your heart), jealousy, hostility, quarrels, divisions, factions, envy, drunkenness, excess. These are desires of the flesh that do not spring up at random: the enemy has been bombarding you with thoughts and images, there is always a source.

He then opens a very concrete parenthesis: our capitalist societies are built on and fed by these same three forces, covetousness of the eyes, covetousness of the flesh, the pride of life. All advertising tells you: "You need this. You need that." No, you do not need it. Many of us are in debt right up to the limit of our credit cards. Couples fight, are at the end of their rope, because they spend their time just paying the interest and enriching the banks. That car bought too quickly, those $2,000 worth of clothes from head to toe for a party, those endless trips to the stores, where do they come from? From covetousness, in its three forms.

5. The master key: self-control

There is no magic solution. The pastor gives one master key to triumph over every kind of covetousness: self-control. It is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). It is not advertising that decides what you need. It is not the opinion of others. It is you, according to your real need.

The pastor is direct about his own testimony: "Apart from the mortgage on my house, I have no other debts." Banks fight to offer credit to someone with a good rating, but with self-control you can say, "No, thank you." Self-control means being able to say, "I do not need that."

And the pastoral approach is clear: if you are in debt, at the end of your rope, do not start by crying out, "Lord, bless me." First ask for forgiveness. "Forgive me, Lord, I have not been wise. I have coveted. I have been proud. Now teach me the wisdom to manage well." God blesses in stages: he will not put more money in your hands if it is only going to feed the same cravings. Live according to your current salary. Be faithful in little. He will increase it.

Key takeaways

• Covetousness did not start with you. It started in Eden, with a serpent that sowed doubt and redirected desire.
• The three forms of covetousness (of the eyes, of the flesh, the pride of life) are as old as the world. They appear in Genesis 3, in Matthew 4, and in 1 John 2.
• Where Adam and Israel failed, Jesus triumphed. His strength: the Word of the Father and his refusal to negotiate with the enemy.
• Our capitalist societies feed on these three forms of covetousness. Much of our debt and many marital conflicts trace back to this same trap.
• The master key to triumph is self-control, a fruit of the Spirit. It comes through asking for forgiveness, learning wisdom, and adjusting your life to your real needs rather than your cravings.

Personal application

• What is the misdirected desire that is currently taking the place Jesus should hold in your heart?
• Is there a debt on your credit card or in your budget that you took on out of covetousness rather than real need? Are you ready to ask forgiveness before asking for a blessing?
• Of the three forms of covetousness (eyes, flesh, pride of life), which one is the enemy bombarding you with the most right now? Which "source" (media, relationship, content) should you cut off?
• In this week's temptations, are you responding like Eve ("she discussed it") or like Jesus ("it is written... be gone")?
• What would it concretely mean to "live according to your current salary" for you this week? A purchase to skip, a card to put away, an expense to cut?

Verses cited

• Revelation 2:4-5 : "You have abandoned your first love. Remember, repent, and do the works you did at first."
• Genesis 3:4-6 : The serpent, doubt, and the three forms of covetousness.
• Matthew 4:1-11 : The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.
• Psalm 91:11-12 : Quoted by Satan atop the temple.
• 1 John 2:15-16 : "Do not love the world... the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life."
• Galatians 5:19-23 : The works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit, including self-control.

FAQ

Why talk about "first love" again today?

Because the diagnosis Jesus gives the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2 has not aged a day. You can very well keep coming to church, serving, singing, all while carrying a cold heart. Naming the traps (routine, scandals, polluted sources, self-satisfaction, and now covetousness) helps you get out of autopilot and come back to Jesus.

Is covetousness really that big a trap for a Christian?

Yes. Pastor Celestin YAO reminds us that Satan himself tempted Jesus using these same three levers: covetousness of the flesh (stones into bread), covetousness of the eyes and presumption (the leap from the temple), the pride of life (the kingdoms of the world). If the enemy did not hesitate to use these weapons against Jesus, he will not leave you alone either. Do not take it lightly.

Practically speaking, where should I start if I recognize myself in this message?

The pastor gives a clear order. First, ask for forgiveness: "Lord, forgive me, I have not been wise, I have coveted, I have been proud." Then ask for wisdom: "Now teach me to manage well." Then live according to your current salary, without letting the credit card replace your income. And finally, every day, ask for self-control as a fruit of the Spirit, putting Jesus back as your only desire.