The Tenth Commandment - That’s Still Not Yours!

Exodus 20:17 - "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."

When It's GOOD To Covet

Simply put, to "covet" is to desire or have a craving for something that isn't currently in your possession. Most people read "covet" and automatically assume it's always a bad thing - but that is not the case. There are actually times the Bible commands us to covet!

The Hebrew word that is used in the tenth commandment is the word "chamad" - it is variously translated as covet, desire, take pleasure in, lust after, long for, and enjoy. For many misguided Christians, this idea of such extreme passion could never be a good thing! But let's be clear: God is very interested in what is desirable, pleasing, and fun for us. He isn't some "prude" in Heaven, forbidding us from anything that fun or pleasurable.

(Did you realize the first time the Bible uses the word for "covet", it was before Adam and Eve Sinned?)

Let me show you some things you may never have before seen in Scripture:

Genesis 2:9 - "And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food."

The phrase "pleasant to the sight" is one Hebrew word - "chamad". God made the trees of the garden (and by inference, all of creation) to be enjoyable and pleasing. He made things that we would want...things to covet.

Psalm 19:9-10 - "The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."

Here we see that we should be coveting - craving and longing for - the judgments of God, found inside His Word. Has there ever been a time in your Christian life when you could say that you craved the words on the Bible's pages? This is the healthiest desire you will ever have in your life.

Even in the New Testament, we're commanded to covet some things:

1 Corinthians 12:31 tells us to "covet earnestly the best [spiritual] gifts..."

God wants us to eagerly desire supernatural manifestations of His Spirit in our lives! It is completely scriptural for a Christian to crave healings, miracles, prophesy, and discerning of spirits to work in their lives. In fact 1 Corinthians 14:39 backs this up when it says, "Wherefore, brothers, covet to prophesy..."

When Coveting Becomes A Sin

So we can see through Scriptures that there are times when it is right and expected for us to covet some things. So when does coveting become a bad thing? When does coveting break the tenth commandment?

There are two boundaries that are placed on our desires - when we cross those boundaries, we transition from healthy, God-given desires, into covetousness. At that point, the desires no longer enhance your life, they begin to control it.

Boundary #1 - Defining your life by what you desire

Luke 12:15 - "And He said to them, 'Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses."

As God's people, we can't define our quality of life by the things we possess.

In other words, don't think thoughts like:

"I have a good life because I have this..."

"If only I had this, my life would be so much better..."

"I have to have that, or else my life stinks!"

All of these statements use the things that you enjoy to decide whether your life is "good" or "bad". And that is Jesus' definition of coveteousness.

Boundary #2 -  When you have no right to possess it

This is the essence of the tenth commandment. "You shall not covet your neighbor's..."

If you find yourself craving, longing for, and desiring something that rightfully belongs to someone else, you're sinning. You have no right to have that thing (or that person) in your life, therefore you have no right to long for it.

Let me use this as an example to show the difference between godly and ungodly craving:

If someone sees the strong, invincible marriage that my wife and I have and craves that type of marriage between them and their spouse....that is a godly coveting. Why? Because they have a Biblical right to a strong marriage! That is a healthy desire - to be acted on immediately!

But if, instead of desiring the same type of relationship we have in their own marriage, they begin to desire a person in our marriage...this is ungodly coveteousness.

Instead of thinking "what if my wife and I had that kind of relationship...this kind of desire begins to think, "my life would be so much better if I had only married her instead."

When you don't have a right to something, and you still crave it, that is sinful coveting - and needs to be repented of immediately. The longer that kind of desire festers inside you, the more likely it will lead to a more destructive, outward sin.

No Right To That:

Take a look at the things God commands us not to desire:

"Your neighbor's house..."

We are not to be jealous about where someone else lives. Be happy where you're at right now! (My wife and I had to learn this ourselves - our life is not defined by where we live!)

"...your neighbor's wife..."

You can strive for and crave the kind of healthy relationship you see in a strong marriage...but only to the extent that it applies to your own marriage. As soon as you start looking at the person in that marriage, then you're no longer dealing with a healthy desire.

"...nor his male or female servant..."

This is referring to a person's position in life: their title, their promotion, their influence, and the people that look up to them. Your time will come if you remain faithful in what you have now. Until then, be content with the influence you have right now.

"...nor his ox..."

Cattle and sheep were a means of livelihood when the tenth commandment was penned. Today we would say, "his bank account, his income, or his wallet." Don't desire someone else's wealth.

"...nor his donkey..."

Someone's means of transportation. It could be a car, a motorcycle, an airplane - even a bicycle, quad, or boat! Don't look at what they're sitting on, or in, and be jealous!

"...nor anything that is your neighbor's."

If your neighbor has anything else that's not covered in these categories...it's still off limits. If it's theirs, then it's not yours. And if it's theirs, you don't have a Biblical right to desire it for yourself.

Your desires should be focused on the things you have a right to possess. In today's society, especially in light of the different protests and anger against the "rich", it's important to remember that this command still applies! In God's eyes, you have no right to something that belongs to someone else...whether that person "needs it" or not.

Let's forget this class warfare mindset that Satan is trying to pull is into. Let's move into total obedience to God, and total trust in His care for us. It's time to go all the way, and bring our desires in line with His Word!

Hebrews 13:5-6 - "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say: 'The LORD is my Helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me?'"