No Coveting

DEVOTION

EXODUS

NO COVETING

Ex 20:17

17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

NIV

We certainly could see murder, or killing and we sure would be able to witness most types of stealing, and maybe even adultery, but no one can see our coveting heart. This is something only we know for within our own being. In a sort of general way, this commandment deals with a couple of internal issues. The first is greed. To covet or as the original language means, to delight in, is to be greedy. We want what someone else has. Our eyes see his things and we would like to have those things also. Now that does not mean we would steal them, or take them for ourselves, except in the case of adultery. Jesus spoke about greed several different ways. One of them is:

Luke 12:15

15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." 

NIV

When we covet, when we delight in someone’s things, it is surely a form of greed. But also it is not being content with what we have, we want more, we want what our neighbor has. Maybe we don’t actually want his, but we want the same as his. We are bombarded at every turn, in every form of media to want. They tantalize our eyes with pictures that make us want what they are selling. They want us to be discontent with what we have.  Discontentment leads to all sorts of problems. Greed is just one. We need to understand that contentment is a learning process because our hearts are naturally greedy or coveting. This requires hearing from the Spirit in order to learn.

Phil 4:10-13

 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

NIV

This teaching goes right to the heart of not coveting what our neighbor has. But there is also another aspect to this coveting. It can go beyond the physical realm of stuff and enter the realm of positions. What that looks like is when we are jealous of another person’s position in our work place, or in the church, the body of Christ, even in simply a social setting. Wanting to belong to the group, to be with the in people, is a form of coveting. Wanting to be seen as spiritual as someone else, or as knowledgeable in the scriptures may be interpreted as having a covetousness heart. Any form of jealously stems from coveting. If we are truly believers then we should rejoice when someone is blessed, either in goods, or by having a great spouse and marriage, or by being recognized for some special skill, talent, or position in the body, being content with God has done for us, in us and through us. If we can also be thankful for his continued work in our lives, and his provisions for our lives, and his working through our lives, then we have no need to covet anything.