By: Judith Hargett

The part of my brain that produces common sense had apparently taken a temporary leave of absence and was replaced by wishful thinking.  Still, I knew better.  There is no way to do a project in the house that combines a man with a saw that does not result in the need for major cleaning…even when the actual sawing is done outside.  We recently embarked on a small home improvement project.  Soon every surface in or near our house was covered in dust.   The old dust bunnies sought out the newly formed dust and—not surprisingly considering they’re bunnies—soon produced a whole new crop of dust bunnies. Fall cleaning began early.  This would be a good time, I reasoned, to rid the house of a few unnecessary things.  After all, I didn’t want to be guilty of Covetitis, an inflammation of the Covetary Gland. 

            If you heard Pastor Dan Greene’s message recently, you would understand all about this highly infectious disease called Covetitis.  It is easy to self diagnose.   It was covered in the last lesson in his series on The Ten Commandments, each lesson well worth hearing if you missed any of them.  Having fallen under the influence of my conscience, I quickly assessed myself and diagnosed a mild to moderate case of Covetitis.  It’s a condition most of us have.  It may be coveting someone else’s property, talent, health, youth or problem-free (ha) family.  The list of possibilities is almost endless.  But when it comes to coveting things, Dan said something that has been a long-term problem for me: contentment comes from wanting all you have.   My house has plenty of stuff in it I don’t want.  It shouldn’t be this way.  After all, haven’t I carried loads and loads of clothes and knickknacks to Salvation Army?  And donated bags of more stuff for garage sales?  Who keeps refilling my emptied corners and cabinets? 

            It didn’t take long before an opportunity arose to reduce my inventory of non-essential décor.  While emptying our very small China cabinet, which held enough items to cover half a football field, a Willow Tree angel and a small clay rabbit fell out hitting the tile floor.  The angel’s head rolled off into a corner and the rabbit was missing an ear.  I do not believe in luck or omens so did not get a creepy feeling at the sight of a headless angel.  The angel, ironically named “Angel of the Kitchen,” was a gift given by a friend when we moved into our current home.  My kitchen offerings might be considered adequate but not angelic…a fact the headless angel now seemed to confirm.   Yet, I could not convince myself to throw away either the angel or the rabbit.  Instead I spent two precious hours trying to glue the head back on the angel and the ear back on the rabbit. (It’s easier for me to give away than throw away.)  I didn’t really consider this good time management on my part.  I am so very thankful, though, that God is willing to take the time to mend me back together when I “lose” my own head and my ears feel broken by worldly words.       

            There is an old song written by Helen Lemmel that is worth dwelling on when we get caught up in the materialism that is pushed by the world.  The words to the song go like this:

             “Turn your eyes upon Jesus.  Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

             Now that is a fine dose of medicine for Covetitis.  Just repeat as often as needed.  The Great Healer is always available to fill your prescription§