What causes wars, and what causes fightings among you? Is it not your passions that are at war in your members?
You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war. You do not have, because you do not ask.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.
Jas 4: 1-3, 10
Very few people escape envying others for what they have, or giving in to temptation and buying bits of useless or unnecessary bling to decorate ourselves or our homes. Admiring others can inspire us to set goals that extend us, and a little bit of bling is harmless enough. But when these things become major preoccupations we’re in trouble: we’ve got to the stage of not knowing what is good for us. Envy and acquisitiveness can turn us into rather nasty people to know.
Oh God, guide us in discerning what is right and good, what is satisfyingly enough. Guard us against greed and help us to show gratitude for all that we have.