"You shall not covet your
neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male
servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything
that is your neighbor’s" (Exodus 20:17)
To be covetous is to enviously wish for something
that belongs to somebody else. It’s when you want the wealth,
possessions or privileges of another person. In the original Hebrew
language of this verse it meant to desire, to lust after something
pleasant, beautiful or delightful. This verse is repeated in Deuteronomy
5:21, except the verse also warns against desiring your neighbor’s “field”
as well. The Hebrew word in Deuteronomy is a different but similar word
for covetousness, carrying the meaning of delighting in something that
is not yours.
How many marriages, how many friendships and families
have been destroyed because somebody wanted a person who was someone
else’s spouse? How much tension are you living under because you want to
keep up with your neighbors and have what they have?
What if no one coveted in this world? What if
everybody was content with what they have, what they are? What kind of
world would it be? Certainly the evening news, if there was any, would
be very different from what it is now. It is entirely likely
that all the problems of this world are caused by humanity's
covetousness.
It’s our sin that brings us down.
There are temptations all around us to break the
Tenth Commandment, which is our Scripture for today. Our eyes are
continually drawn to something or someone and we must constantly be in
prayer as we are urged to do in 1st Thessalonians 5:17. I have been
reading the book, “Every Man’s battle,”
which explores the restless eyes and thoughts of men and the authors
urge us to
train ourselves to look away when we are tempted. We must pray and we
must also “look away,” as we are taught in “Every
Man’s Battle.” The man named Job understood our battle to be free
from covetousness, for he said, “I have made a
covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a young woman?”
(Job 31:1).
The Apostle John understood humanity’s temptation,
stating: “All that is in the world, the desires of
the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions – it is
not from the Father but is from the world” (1 John 2:16). Have
you noticed that what you need of this world is passing away? The money
you want is being swallowed up by inflation and that young, attractive
person who drew your attention is likely to inflate also. John
continued, “The world is passing away along with
its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1
John 2:17).
You can see God’s will in today’s Scripture, the
Tenth Commandment: “You shall not covet your
neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male
servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything
that is your neighbor’s" (Exodus 20:17). Your need is to
become content with who and what you are. You are to trust in the Lord
to the extent that you are not greedy for money, not angry to the point of
murder, and not disrespectful to others. John Stott said, “Covetousness
is dry drunkenness.” The greatest need for an alcoholic is to
stop drinking and the covetous person needs to STOP also.
By ourselves we are helpless. That’s what Paul the
Apostle observed – “We know that the Law is
spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. I do not understand my
own actions, for I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I
hate… I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to
carry it out…” (Romans 7:14 & forward). He said, “I
would not have known what it is to covet if the Law had not said, ‘You
shall not covet,' but sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment
produced in me all kinds of covetousness…” (Romans 7:7-8 &
context). If you see a sign next to the road that says, “Bridge
Out Ahead!” do you stop or keep on going? It may be that you are
curious and want to see if the bridge is actually damaged. Be careful,
for in the darkness of this life, you are likely to go over the edge.
Paul continued his discussion on covetousness, on
keeping the Law, in Romans 7:24, shouting, “Wretched
man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” And
then he concluded with the good news that there IS a way to be delivered
from covetousness. He said, “There is therefore
now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus; for the law of
the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin
and death” (Romans 8:1-2).
There are many excellent examples of covetousness in
Scripture. Some are very obvious, such as the story of Samson presented
in the Book of Judges. He was a man who enjoyed being the deliverer, the
judge of Israel, but he also enjoyed that which was forbidden to him.
His mixed motives led to his weakness, imprisonment, blinded eyes, and
death.
More subtle is the story in Acts Chapter 5 of Ananias
and Sapphira, a married couple who wanted to seem to be religious,
but covetousness literally killed them. The Early Church in Jerusalem
was full of new converts who were zealous for Christ. Many demonstrated faith by giving everything they had to the church. Ananias and Sapphira
sold their land and told everyone that the money was given like the
others, but they secretly kept some of it for themselves. When confronted about
it, each of them lied and then both of them suddenly died. They did not
have to sell their land or give anything to the church, but they did and
then to be on what they considered the safe side, they lied about how
much they gave. They may have trusted in the Lord or maybe they faked it,
but when they said to the people in the Presence of the Lord that they
gave all the money to the church, it no longer belonged to them. They
coveted the temporary security of money more than they trusted in the
Lord, and it led to their destruction.
The complete opposite of those two was the man
Jonathan in the Old Testament Book of First Samuel. He was the son of
Saul, king of Israel, and he was also the friend of David, the man who
would succeed Saul on the throne of Israel. Jonathan was the Crown
Prince who was first in the line of Israel’s throne and on the death of Saul,
he could have been king, except for one thing. He was David’s friend and
as such, he did not covet the throne of his father, but supported and
protected David. Jonathan honored God by acting out the Scripture which
is to us all: “You shall love your neighbor as
yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).
Coveting is to lack the faith that God is giving you
exactly what you need in life and that He knows what He is doing. If you feel, like Ananias and Sapphira, that you must
possess something in order to feel safe
and happy, go to the Lord in prayer, for your life may well be in
jeopardy.
If somebody has something or is about to
get something that otherwise might be yours, be sure and pray, for you
will learn that God is watching out for your interests as well, though
perhaps differently than you expect. John Stott said, “Covetousness
is a self-destructive passion, a craving which is never satisfied, even
when what has been craved is now possessed.” The more you get of
what you think you want, the more you think you need. When Paul the
Apostle said, “Godliness with contentment is great
gain” (1 Timothy 6:6); those words speak
directly to you and me.
We have been covetous, Lord. Help us trust in
You, that we may be content with Your provision, and have faith to accept
the blessings given to others. In Jesus Name. Amen.
