The fifth & sixth sins in the list of “Seven Deadly Sins” are the “close cousins” of envy/covetousness.

Envy is the attitude that tells us we deserve what another person has. Coveting means that we want some specific thing belonging to another.

Everyone from Hollywood to advertisers know that most people are suckers for anything new—especially if we believe that it is something that somebody else already has. As ‘Dennis the Menace’ once said as he looked a catalogue, “This catalogue’s got a lot of toys I didn’t even know I wanted.”

Is there a cure? Can we learn to say “enough”? The answer is contentment. Here are four antidotes to envy, greed, and covetousness in our lives.

1. See the strength of Jesus within. In Philippians 4:13 Paul wrote “I can do all things through him who gives me strength.” He realized that as long as he had Jesus living inside him, he could be content in any and every situation.

2. Loosen your grip on what is “yours.” Learn that instead of seeing things as ‘mine’ that everything belongs to God and He lets us use and manage them. Seeing everything as God’s and not ‘ours’ will transform how we see possessions.

3. Find people who know how to say “enough.” Paul asked his Philippian readers to follow his example (4:9). We each need to find joyful, contented people to learn from and emulate. This will help us learn contentment in our lives.

4. Remember your proper priorities. Many people “love things and use people.” That is not what Paul did. He loved people and used things. God gives us people to love, serve, and impact for His sake. Remembering this priority helps us envy less and love more.

If we are able to put these four antidotes into our lives in increasing measures, we will be able to keep envy and greed from worming their way down deep inside us and leading us to do things we never thought we would do.