Don’t Covet
Commandment #10: “Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:17) Maybe I’m wrong but I suspect that this is the one commandment which nobody keeps. I know that I don’t keep it as I should. Though we might claim that we have kept the Ten Commandments because we have never worshiped an idol or murdered somebody or committed adultery or stolen anything big or given false testimony, but who can claim to have never desired something that another person possesses: their house, car, boat, job, income, clothing, their spouse. or their Bible Encyclopedias.
Bible Encyclopedias? When I was a seminary student, a publishing house announced a forthcoming five volume set of Bible Encyclopedias on a special sale—only $200. While I could have afforded them, it would have depleted my savings account, so I decided not to buy them. However, my friend, who lived near me in the dorm, ordered a set for himself. A few weeks later when his books arrived, I was in his dorm room admiring his brand-new Bible Encyclopedias—they even smelled new! He saw me drooling over his books and said, “You know, envy is a sin.” I looked at his smug expression and said, “Well, pride of ownership is also a sin.” To which he replied, “I would rather sin and have, than sin and have not.” I had no response to that, so I went and ordered myself a set.
Have you ever been there, wanting what someone else has? Perhaps we would never actually take their things (the sin of stealing), but do we secretly envy our neighbor’s possessions? The desire to “keep up with the Joneses” is breaking the Tenth Commandment! And the book of James says that if we break one commandment, we break them all (James 2:10-11).
We might identify the sin of Eve in the Garden as coveting: wanting something she didn’t have, and imagining that her life would be better if she had it. This desire led her to disobey the only rule they had been given and to take the forbidden thing she wanted. The Serpent was clever in appealing first to her heart’s desire, which led to her second sin, taking it.
That Serpent, also known as the Devil or Satan, understands the power of coveting. As the tempter, he even tried this—unsuccessfully— with Jesus. In the wilderness the Devil tempted Jesus by offering him all the kingdoms of the world, if he would worship him (the Devil). Jesus, responded to this temptation by citing the First Commandment: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him” (Matthew 4:9-10).
The Devil still tempts in this way: showing us something desirable, letting us see others having it and enjoying it, then imaging ourselves having it, then desiring it in our heart. Whether or not we ever buy it or steal it, wanting what someone else has is the sin of coveting.
In the book of James, he described the process of human desire turning into sin, “Each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires. Then after the desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.” (James 1:14-15). Fortunately, we don’t have to give in to temptation because “God is faithful and he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide a way of escape, so that you are able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). We can’t avoid being tempted but we don’t have to give in to sin. This commandment is different than the previous nine commandments in one significant way. The other commandments all identified a particular behavior that we should do or should not do. They also implied a heart attitude that motivated that behavior. But the Tenth Commandment starts with the heart: secretly desiring something or someone that another person has and I don’t. It is the sin of envy or jealousy. And that heart desire may lead us to doing sinful behaviors.
We can re-state the Tenth Commandment in a positive way. Instead of “Don’t covet” we can say “Be contented.” The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “Godliness with contentment is a great gain. For we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these” (1 Timothy 6:6-8). Hebrews tells us “Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’” (Hebrews 13:5). We can respond to the temptation to covet as Jesus did, by citing the First Commandment: Yahweh is our God. Trust him to meet our needs. He will never leave us or forsake us.
Desiring things, in and of itself, is not a sin. Jesus told us to desire good things: God’s kingdom and his righteousness, (Matthew 6:33), and God will meet our daily needs as well. The problem with coveting is desiring the wrong things, our neighbor’s things. That is the moral problem the Tenth Commandment identifies.
Greg Giles is a published author, who, along with his wife Jean, has embraced the call to serve and teach around the globe. Their life together has included missionary work in Liberia, Bangladesh, teaching in China, and raising a family in Bemidji, Minnesota. Between global travels and local commitments, including serving as superintendent of Corn Bible Academy and their current part-time roles at Corn Heritage Village, the Gileses have found “home” in many places; yet, they now happily reside in retirement in Cordell.