Pet Peeve

This may seem a bit insensitive, but I hate it when people say "I covet your prayers." Insensitive because someone usually "covets" prayers at a difficult time in their life, and I would not nitpick with someone who directly told me they covet my prayers.

That being said, that's not really what "covet" means. Coveting goes beyond simple want or desire. To covet is to want something enviously that's not yours and you can't have. I covet the mansion down the street. I covet my neighbor's newer car. Covetousness, when followed to its logical conclusion, leads to hatred and theft.

If I'm going through a difficult time in my life, I don't "covet" someone else's prayers to the point that I would cheat and steal from them to get some prayers. It just doesn't follow.

Using the word "covet" just seems to be a way to use a biblical-type word (heck, depending on how you number the ten commandments, coveting is forbidden in two of them!) and sound "godly." But it usually just makes a person sound like they don't know what it really means. (And, it turns out, people agree that using big words when smaller ones will do usually just makes the person sound stupider. I would second that for using Bible words when regular ones will do.)

Also, "covenant" as a verb. What's the deal with that? Hypothetical example: "I covenanted my friend that I would pay her back the $10 I borrowed." Silly!