Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.
—Luke 12:15
Francis de Sales allegedly heard more confessions than any other Catholic priest. He said that he never once heard anyone confess covetousness.
We don’t confess it because we don’t think we’re guilty of it—covetousness is seldom recognized by its victim.
Yet, it ranks high among human flaws. A disproportionate number of conflicts have covetousness at their center.
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight” (Jas 4:1–2).
Give sober thought to Jesus’ words: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed: a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Lk 12:15).
Covetousness never travels alone;
misery always travels with it.