William Mason said: “Consider the evil of covetousness. That insatiable desire prevents present contentment, destroys thankfulness, yes, and keeps the enjoyment of Christ out of the heart…” Can Creator tell us if this is indeed true as opposed to mostly true? Is covetousness truly an INSATIABLE desire—a thirst that can never be quenched? And if it is, how is it that consciousness can fall into such a condition? Is covetousness only a problem with sentient souls, or can lower life forms struggle with this as well? What can Creator tell us?

It is true that this quote is clearly dealing with absolutes and considering covetousness a state of being, not a momentary whim that might be reckoned with due to internal conflict and a recalibration to change course and pull back from indulging in that excess desire that is truly inappropriate in reaching a level of covetousness. So this is talking about a true problem with an imbalance in soul attributes leaving a person unable to balance out their wants and desires with what is appropriate in the context of those around them and their place in things, whether a friendship with another person, a family group, or a larger circle of people who are interacted with. For a person who is normal, but unavoidably human, there can be moments of envy, jealousy, or the awakening of strong desires simply because they encounter something that is just so wonderful to them, and so perfect for them in their likes and pleasures, they just want it so badly that it opens the floodgates, perhaps on many years of perceived self-denial or having a suffering of lack that leaves them chronically thirsting for more. So when they see it on display, cannot help themselves but to be enchanted and enthralled and thereby tempted to overreach and do something inappropriate that is self-serving. But if they are largely normal, they will ultimately step back from the brink, regain their bearings, and right the ship without doing something irrevocable that burns the bridges with a relationship or creates a legal liability. The person who has a corrupted soul expression, because there are missing or suppressed soul attributes in their physical extension which weaken their character so that they get into trouble through coveting something not theirs, will not have the ability to control their thoughts and feelings, or their actions for that matter, and those are the ones who get into real trouble. When they overstep the boundaries, it will often be something large and a tragic misstep in causing an irrevocable rift or even legal liability. The contrast between humans and lower life forms is that humans were created to be of a lofty nature, truly an expression of divinity, and thus more capable, more creative, and adaptable in having a strong inner impulse for goodness that is a kind of love on display, with all expressions of love being divine and lofty as well. Lower-order species are capable of fitting in more naturally because they are less complicated and less subject to corruption. They have simpler lives, simpler circumstances, and do not suffer moral dilemmas in the way humans do. Other species are living day to day and simply reacting to local circumstances and various stimuli. They do not think ahead and plan ahead, and covetousness is very much a forward-looking yearning and desire to change things in a way to benefit the self, and there may well be a follow‑through in some sort of plan to bring about a kind of theft through manipulation of some kind in order to satisfy the greedy desires of the covetous one. While other life forms do have variety of individual expressions within certain limits, there are differences in levels of aggression, and so on, but these are more a reflection of the native characteristics imbued in the particular species they represent as a range of possibilities. In other words, all in nature is not designed to be a state of perfection and beyond doing anything wrong or harmful. Many creatures have claws, fangs, poison, or venom that can inflict pain or kill something getting in their way or attacking them. So other species were created to be within this physical environment, an arena of competition among life forms. Because it has many dark aspects due to the rise of evil, there are correspondingly many creatures that are dangerous, hostile, and violent as well as having no compunction about taking whatever they can from their fellow creatures. So while most are designed to simply fit in, and those with a large population, not readily threatened by some sort of predator, find it easy to get along and are mostly threatened by a shortfall in food supply rather than getting attacked and eaten by another organism, but that happens as well and is simply a reflection of the range of possibilities in the options and challenges of life in the physical. Humans were created with a larger skill set to look at the bigger picture and to encompass a moral perspective in their thoughts, feelings, and actions. In other words, more is expected of them. That is why, in being triggered by something another has that they want, it is a moral test in what takes place next, and that is why covetousness is crossing a line into nonalignment with the divine.