Bible Verses About Covetousness

For as I have often told you before, and now say again even with tears: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.

Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.

Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.

and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.

Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.

For we brought nothing into the world, so we cannot carry anything out of it.

But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.

Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”

You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.”

As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil.

Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.

Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.

Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them the way of truth will be defamed.

In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.

Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed.

They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.

But he was rebuked for his transgression by a donkey, otherwise without speech, that spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

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 all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.

The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.