Sunday Sermonettes #060
The 10th Commandment says: You shall not covet! It is comprehensive in its coverage as well: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Bible)
Coveting is essentially a yearning to possess something which is not rightfully ours. It can be anything that you set your desire on. For a child it can be a pencil, a toy, or even a sweet his or her friend has. For a man or woman it can be things much larger and more prized than all these.
Coveting is a desire that crosses boundaries God has kept for our own safety. It is like ignoring the red lights and pressing on the accelerator of your car. You might succeed to get, to grab, to hold, and to possess. But it destroys everything that you cherish in life in that process:
Relationships turn murky. There is heartbreak and sorrow. Justice is upset. Wrong is done. There is violation of human dignity. The tales of misery and sorrow do not end; it continues in the family. The results of breaking the 10th Commandment which says, you shall not covet, is terrible.
So is there a checklist I can refer to in order that I might not violate the 10th Commandment? It is a good question. The starting point is, do not covet anything that belongs to your neighbour.
The wise King Solomon made the point: “All labour and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbour.” We compare and contrast with what our neigbours have. Then we start to covet.
Be thankful for what you have. Get rid of that sense of dissatisfaction in life often created by slick advertisements and the glamorous visuals on social media.
Serious consequences that can plague you lifelong accompany the violation of the 10th Commandment, you shall not covet. For coveting can easily be the starting point of a landslide of sin and misery in your life.
At the end of the day you and I are answerable and accountable to God when we stand before his judgement seat. Not one of us can stand before his wrath. So let us not covet.
Every Drop of Blood
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