" I Want That Too "


This is not a post I really want to write.  I know it will resonate with some and perhaps make others feel uncomfortable, which I dislike doing but that small still voice kept telling me to write about this yesterday and I ignored it, and so first this morning I heard that same still voice telling me again to write about this subject, I knew it must be done.  Not for anyone other than myself perhaps.  For this is a lesson for me.
Recently someone told me about a web page where you pin things that you want, or are interested in on a virtual corkboard of sorts.  So I went there, signed up and felt an overwhelming sense of thousands of folks saying, "I want that too".   It reminded me of the fleeting want I have from time to time for a new stove, you know the kind, stainless steel, lots of burners, commercial looking.   I have no idea why I want one, my stove is fairly new,  it works wonderfully.  Burners easy to control.  Oven temperatures are rigth on target.  Oven is big.  It is not the stove that makes the food anyway.  It's my hand that stirs the pots, puts the ingredients in.  But, the stove is "white" of all things !  The home channel tells me white is outdated, even though the stove is only a few years old and works fine.  The magazines and this pin board thing, all tell me that a good kitchen cannot have white appliances, they need to be stainless steel.   So, even if the thought is fleeting, almost always brought back down to reason when I take the time to look at it, the thought arises from time to time.   Then I see Julia Child on her cooking show, making masterpieces on this horrid looking green electric cook top and I understand, the stove has little to do with the quality of the cooking.  I think of the amazing food cooked on an old wood heat cookstove in many a plain kitchen and I realize rather simply that these "I want that too" thoughts are honestly nothing more than covetousness.  Ouch, such a strong word.  We like to soften the idea of coveting by calling it by some other name.    But the facts are plain, when we don't need something,  just want what others have, it is coveting.  
Exodus 20:17 spells it out quite plainly....
“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.”
Romans 7:7
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.”
Websters dictonary gives some examples of how to use the word covet and its pretty plain, wanting what someone else has or wanting something in a showroom fits the bill.
How do we all get off the hamster wheel of wanting more than what we need ?  How do we learn to be content with what we have if it still works fine ?  How do we stop ourselves from trying to convince ourselves that we need what we simply are just wanting to have ?   An easy way would be to stop looking at the shows, the blogs, the stores, the magazines, the virtualy pin boards and look only at the things we need, honestly NEED.  One more aspect of coveting,  don't try to look like that airbrushed 25 year old in the magazine when you are 55 and don't try to be a size 2 when your body shape would never allow for that without becoming unhealthy.    Don't wish your husband was like the man in the novel you just read, just love the man you fell in love with to start with.   Don't try to make your children like someone elses children.  Love and train them up to live a life of happiness and contentment.   You know I am preaching to myself.  I am not overly covetous, but I have my moments and those moments, even if only fleeting, can make you feel discontent.
One other fact regarding this matter, the stores will not suffer if we only shop for what we need.  There are always needs arising.

our daughter Melissa when she was a young teen, holding some rabbits she raised

Comments

Rose said…
Yet again patty such wise words you write!
Anonymous said…
Jhn 13:34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. Gal 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

In the same Spirit you have shared your concern with us, I am also sharing mine with you. That our focus be "love" and our motive as well , and NOT sin! for if I am focussed on love I cannot be focussed on sin ! Jesus came to do away with sin , so now the question is how do live in love with ourselves and eachother , Thats what I think anyway! Especially since LOVE covers a multitude of sins.
Rosemary said…
This post is so what I needed to reflect on. Thank you.
Dawn said…
There is always going to be stuff we *want*. It's ingrained in us to want things.

It's up to us though to decide if we *need* that particular item or not.

We sometimes get our wants and needs mixed up a bit in this society.

We actually *need* very little to live on, truth be told.

Never knew a stove color could become 'outdated'...lol. That's so silly... =)

You should see my kitchen...nothing matches. I have a cornucopia of dishes, pots, pans, silverware and I like it. =) Kind of goes with the rest of my home sweet home. I don't really have one running theme. It's just a hodge podge of me and hubby's likes and interests.

Dare to be different and unique!
Cherie said…
I'm on this journey myself. Going on self-imposed spending fasts, cancelling my television subscription, staying out of the mall and other retail outlets, and refusing to purchase magazines are all actions I've taken that have led me to more of a feeling of satisfaction with what I have.

I've never stopped to think of wanting things as being covetous but you're right. Often we only decide we want something because we see someone else with it.

My take on it has been that spending money on frivolous, unnecessary items really restricts us from doing God's work on earth as it ties up resources that could be better used elsewhere.
Kathy said…
I completely agree with you. My stove is white, 5 years old, and it's perfectly fine! I am 55 and I'll never be a size 2, and probably not even a size 12. I'm still ok. It is so easy to get caught up in the "I wants" and I do it too, but am trying very hard to really look at what matters, and it isn't the color of my stove or the size on my clothing label.
Jan said…
Such a great post, Patty. I want is a heavy duty mantra in our culture. I have tried to look at stuff in a new way. It seems crazy to replace or acquire something new when you already have something that suits you well and you are familiar with.
My MIL lifetime of "stuff" has recently come our way and I have had to be careful to pick and chose wisely what will make a difference in our home and what will only clutter. I have also had to be sure to let go of some of our excess to male room. Less for me is more.
Deanna said…
Good reminder. My mom is a compulsive shopper and I'm sure that's part of the reason I'm not. ;) I rarely watch television and when I do it's just a couple of shows we record and fast-forward through commercials. I don't read any magazines other than Countryside and I don't shop just "for fun". I do enjoy Pinterest but I hadn't really thought of it as coveting anything. Probably because I mostly pin pictures of things I see as inspiring in some way rather than things I seriously plan to obtain. Although a yard blooming with an abundance of flowers sure would be nice!

I truly am content with what I have, other than the fact I have too much! Time for another round of decluttering, I think.

Thank you for sharing so honestly.
Mrs.T said…
Patty are you talking about Pinrest site?

I LOVE that site.. but its not because of things I want..

most of what I pin is stuff like craft ideas I want to do.. garden ideas.. and such..

I'm a very visual person.. words sometimes get mix up for me.. yeah its a slight disabitly .. but seeing pictures.. helps me.. so that's why I like pinrest.. not out of need of want.. but someone place I can visually keep ideas of stuff I want to to do..

Good post tho!!

Hugs from TN!
Denise
~Brooke~ said…
I understand where you are coming from about this... but I think it's all about the way you view it. I never looked at the pin board as "I want that". I look at it like a dream board.. a goal board. We all need something to dream about, to work towards and I don't think God is against that. It all depends on your perception..... Also, if you want that white stove... well, get it white when you can get it! :) I have a white stove right now.

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