I’m re-reading a book that has been on my shelf for a while. I’ve mentioned it before. “Smart Women Keep it Simple” by Annie Chapman. It’s a good thing I’m not in any hurry to get this book read. For a while, I was reading a chapter a week. Lately however, I’ve been more focused and have been able to read a chapter a day.

A couple of days ago, I read the chapter about eliminating covetousness from our lives. Annie spoke of Esther and how her beauty placed her in a specific location for a specific moment. She then told Harriet Tubman’s story and the role her physical appearance made in her story. Take a look at what Annie has to say about these two women.

“Like Esther, Harriet exuded courage and faith. And like Esther, she was physically fitted for the role she’d play…Had Esther and Harriet Tubman exchanged physical appearances, neither could have filled the place God had for them.”[i]

What a contrast between these two women and yet we know from history that each of them did their part (with faith in God) to save a group of people. God had a plan for each of them and they answered their calling. They were women who used what they had to be useful to God.

So what about you and me? There doesn’t seem to be anything special about my physical appearance, but can God use me in the way that He used Esther or Harriet? Is there something I need to learn from these two women when it comes to physical appearances? And what does this have to do with covetousness?

Annie goes on to say this about people who read these two accounts. “The same is true for us—physically, financially, emotionally, relationally, intellectually. Before we were born, God fitted us for our place in His plan. If we waste our time coveting what He’s given another, we’re saying we don’t like His plan, and we’ll miss the joy of living out the particular and perfect plan for which we were created.”

I don’t know about you, but I have spent plenty of time wishing something were different about me. Believing that if I were just a few pounds thinner, a little more petite, had curly hair, or wasn’t as clumsy that someone might just like me more or even love me.

According to Annie (and to God), this is wasted time. God created me a specific way for a specific purpose. Knowing that and keeping that thought close to my heart allows me to be comfortable with who I am.

Do I occasionally fall back into the trap of wishing I looked, acted, thought, wrote, cooked, managed, counseled, evangelized, spoke, painted, encouraged like someone else? Oh yes. But I must keep reminding myself that God is using me to further His Kingdom. He is using others in their own way.

Instead of wishing for all of the things listed above, my thoughts and my actions should be drawing me closer to God. He created each of us with a longing inside that only He can satisfy. So when I feel inadequate by other standards, I am reminded to look to God and allow Him to show me what I’m worth.

I don’t know if you’re struggling with the sin of covetousness. But in this world of bigger and better things, I think we all get a good dose of “wanting what others have” through our lives. Keep this passage of Scripture in mind when you feel drawn to covet what your neighbor has.

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 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 he man who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17 – NIV)

When we keep our eyes focused above, the cravings, lust and boasting of this world loses its hold on us.

Today, let’s keep our eyes turned upward. Let’s stay focused on what God has prepared us to do. Let’s push away from the table of covetousness. Let’s live forever!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna

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