All of this is packed into the concept of desire, will, lust, impulse (noun or verb). It can be good, bad, or neutral. The concept of desire is captured in at least three Greek word families (επιθυμια, πλεονεξια, θελημια - approx 100 uses) and at least eight Hebrew word families, with hāmad (2530)being the word used in the Ten Commandments (Note 2) for "Thou shall not covet." There are at least 200 uses of the concept in the Old Testament.
The moral implications are complex, and of all the vice words, this could go deep into human psychology and philosophy. The subject is certainly worth book length treatment. It is not without significance that coveting is the last prohibition in the Ten Commandments, and the apostle Paul confesses that this concept eventually turned his religion upside down. (Note 3) But to return to the focus of our study: how does the New Testament use the concept of desire as a warning or prohibition to guide our behavior?
In our study of New Testament vices, here I have grouped together the above referenced words for desire along with references to sordid or dishonest gain, lovers of money, and references by Jesus to apathy or neglect of generosity which corresponds to greed. This group accounts for over 50 references, placing it in the top seven with the vice topics covered previously, plus pride and arrogance, our next topic.
Around one-fourth of these references deal with sexuality in relationships, which can become lustful, envious, covetous, possessive, unholy, all of which find our desires, often leading to actions, in the wrong place or attention, the wrong proportion, the wrong intention. (Note 5) Scripture warns against the danger or harm of inappropriate sensual or sexual attention (typically "lust" in some Bible translations), in which we can find every danger that is present in any other modern form of addictive or uncontrolled behavior.
“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.” Titus 3:3
As I stated at the outset, we can see desire, covetousness and greed on a spectrum from simple lust or selfishness to institutional or systematic greed, which becomes injustice of the nature of oppression or exploitation of the more powerful over the less powerful.
Here, for example, we may find a community that protects and guards its financial interests through legal and financial structures that control the flow of resources, such as school funding mechanisms. Allocation of money for schools is generally regulated at the state government level, and these structures generally do not enforce any robust concept of school funding equity. These protectionist structures, which are effectively utilized across the United States, protect the resources of wealthy communities, generally predominately white but not necessarily racially defined, from less privileged school systems, counties, and communities, disproportionately affecting minority communities, be they rural, mountain or urban poor, black, brown, or Native American. This is straight up institutionalized greed, protected by the law, the courts, and the legislatures, with children as the victims.
For your consideration, in the area of institutionalized greed, do you feel that routine health care should be reasonably accessible only to the upper three/fourths of the income spectrum, or that we should come together as a people and make it universal? Do you feel that a safety net should strive to protect people from extreme hunger and exposure to the elements by developing large scale strategies to deal with the (mostly disabled and isolated) population of people suffering from homelessness? I do not think of these as simple issues with simple answers, but I hope we can agree that we are falling short.
At the individual level, Jesus admonished us to consider generosity rather than turning away someone in need (Note 5)(yes, there are helpful and unhelpful ways to give), and in that most famous of passages - Matthew 25:31ff, he gave us the undeniable and uncomplicated directives to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, the prisoner, and, often neglected, to welcome the stranger (here I would say the outsider, the unloved, and the alien).
Endnotes
(1) The word "protectionism" is usually applied to policies of international trade whereby a country protects its trade interests through border control, tariffs, and other import/export policies. Here I use the word to apply to individuals of means and wealth who prioritize behaviors that protect their accumulated resources and property over behaviors that demonstrate values of generosity and altruism. If you can think of a better word for this purpose, please let me know. (See Luke 12:16-21)
(2) Exodus 20:17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
(3) Romans 7:7-8 "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, 'Do not covet.' But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire."
(4) 1 John 2:16-17 “For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. "
Image Source:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-county-news-sun/ct-rich-poor-school-districts-20160906-story.html
Image 2: Detail: Luxuria (Lust), in The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things, by Hieronymus Bosch, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lust
