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 belongs to your neighbor.
Exodus 20:17
Once again in the commands of God we see that God intended man to possess certain individual rights. We live in a day where coveting is rampant. I find it interesting that this command is the last. When we look at the rest of the commands we can see how coveting could be the root of them all.
Why would we bear false witness or lie except that we covet our own selves or that we covet the prestige of another and want to discredit them.
Why would we steal, except that we covet what we do not possess?
Why would you commit adultery except that we covet another’s spouse?
Why would we murder, except that we covet another’s life?
Why would we not honor our parents, except that we covet their authority over us?
Why would we not honor the Sabbath except that we covet what we might gain by ignoring it?
Why would we not honor God as God except that we also covet His authority over us and others?
What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you?
Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?
You lust and do not have; so you commit murder.
You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel.
You do not have because you do not ask.
You ask and you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives,
so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
James 4:1-3
You lust and you do not have, so you commit murder. Is this not we have seen from the beginning?
The serpent of old lusted for the authority of God. He coveted God’s kingdom. He coveted God’s house, he coveted God’s bride, and he coveted God’s servants. Yet he could not get them, so he committed murder.
Is coveting not what the serpent used to entice and deceive Eve? Did she not covet the fruit? Did she not lust after the power and knowledge that was claimed by the serpent would come with the eating of the fruit? Did she not take what was not given to her?
She coveted the fruit of the one tree that God had denied her. She lusted and did not have and so she committed murder. In her coveting she brought death to Adam, and Adam brought death to all mankind.
Let us never mistake that coveting is a serious issue. It is a secret sin like no other. It is a sin that cannot be seen by others. It is a sin of the eyes and of the heart and of the mind.
But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin;
and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
James 1:14-15
In Matthew 6:22 Jesus tells us that the eye is the lamp of the body. My husband attended a safety conference for work. In one of the safety workshops the speaker pointed out that the eyes were the only unfiltered opening to our bodies. Our mouth can be closed. Our nose and ears have cilia that filter impurities, but our eyes take in it all.
It makes me think of the childhood song, be careful little eyes what you see…
Could this be why Jesus said “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you…” (Matthew 5:29).
Could this be why Job said, “I have made a covenant with my eyes…” (Job 31:1).
Could this be why David wrote, “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes…” (Psalm 101:3). David knew well the consequences that come with coveting.
Oh precious one, let us fix our eyes on Christ, let us behold His glory alone, let us desire Him only. May we be content, as Paul was content, whether we have a little or a lot, no matter our circumstances (Philippians 4:11-12). May we simply do what is right and trust God to meet our every need in His time and His perfect way.
Oh Father,
How easy it is to fall into the covet trap. This temptation I would say is the devil’s most valuable one. It works so very well. We can even convince ourselves that we are justified in our coveting by rationalizing our desire as a pursuit of happiness. This is why Jesus tells us to stay alert, to pray, for the spirit is willing but our flesh is indeed weak. Help me Father to recognize this tactic of the enemy of my soul. May I not allow my eyes, my heart, or my mind to deceive me because I have not kept my mind renewed by Your Word and or my spirit alert through prayer. Keep me, oh God, in Your truth, Your Word is truth.
My Jesus it is in Your name I pray,
Amen