Commandment #10

Commandment #10
June 23, 2008

Ex 20:17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house, your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's."

I'm not sure where you live, but my neighbor has nothing that I desire. His house leaks when it rains, his wife smokes like a chimney, he doesn't have any servants, and his rat-dog runs around in my yard. How easy it is for me to live out the tenth commandment, "Thou shall not covet." Unfortunately, according to the parable about the Good Samaritan, we are taught that anyone is our neighbor, not just the guy who lives next door to me. But even though the scripture talks about desiring the physical things that we don't have, it is really a heart issue of our current situation.

Each of us has been given a certain lot and situation in life. Maybe you have a lousy job or could use a boost in your relationship when compared to someone else. Maybe you have to struggle because you couldn't go to college and someone else had his way paid in life. It is easy to look at others and desire the things God has given them, especially if it is something you want and may never have. The only way you decided you wanted those things was from seeing someone else's situation or life in comparison to yours. If you lived on an isolated island with all the necessities of life, you wouldn't care if your clothes were designer or not. It wouldn't matter if your car had an expensive name or where you went to college. Nothing would matter as much because you couldn't compare yourself to others.

The root issue behind the tenth commandment is a source of comparison and then complaint. Stop comparing yourself to everyone else. What you have in life and what you are going through is exactly right for you and may actually be your lot in life. Unless you are living a life of rebellion against God, your life is exactly normal for you. It was custom designed for you by God. I know for a fact that you don't desire the bad things that are happening to others. In fact, you shy away from them because it is the opposite of what you want. If you compared yourself to someone who was worse off than you, you might actually feel thankful. But instead, you compare your situation to the perfect Hollywood life and complain because they don't deserve it anymore than you.

This is wrong. Desiring someone else's life, situation, or possessions is actually rebellion against God. It is rebelling against His will for your life and what He would have for you. It is rebelling against what He desires for you and your use for His glory. This is the whole reason we are to pray and ask for things in accordance to His will. If you want a million dollars, then pray for it. But when you don't get it, realize it is not His will for your life and what He would have for you. If that is the case, drop the discussion and go on living. If you live your whole life in a state of "want," you will never be able to enjoy what the Lord actually has for you, nor can He use you for His glory. Stop complaining about your situation or lack thereof and begin to be thankful for what He has given you. You'll realize it is His will for your life and you'll be better off for it. Besides, no one wants in be in rebellion against God.

1. What do you find yourself desiring that someone else has?
2. Are you able to give up that "want" in order to live according to His will for your life?