"You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
Exodus 20:17
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"
Matthew 6:25-27
It’s easy in this life to always long for something other than what we have, but our insatiable desire for more often stems from a lack of trust in God's provision. Through the tenth commandment, we’re challenged to examine our hearts and recognize that coveting isn't just about material possessions, but extends to relationships, influence, and even productivity. In this Sunday’s Brooklyn message, Pastor Ryan Schlachter reminds us that contentment comes not from having everything we want, but from recognizing that in God, we have everything we need.
What is the context?
- When we covet, we are idolizing (Colossians 3). In the same way that the ten commandments start with not building idols, they end with not desiring or lusting after more.
- Contentment becomes difficult in our hearts when we compare ourselves and our circumstances to those around us. If we are not content, it leads to covetousness.
- God is helping Israel to understand the relational and societal destruction that happens when they covet and reveal the joy that comes with contentment.
The Reason We Covet
- Unbelief is the root cause of our coveting. When we do not believe that God is who he says he is or as satisfying as testimonies declare him to be.
- The moment that Eve in the Garden of Eden began to doubt God’s faithfulness and intentions for her, she began to covet.
- The way we will live a life of contentment is not by having all that we need, but by believing that God has given us all that we need.
- Anytime we elevate our desires off the perception of what we believe we should have, we will turn God into an enemy.
"Covetousness involves suspicion about the goodness and love of God. Faith looks up with open hands."
Elisabeth Elliot
The Ways We Covet
- House: Not referring to the quality of your physical home, but also the legacy of what a home represents (family and relationships).
- When we covet the home we never had, we start to neglect the home that we currently do.
- Wife or Spouse: The intimate relationships with emotional and physical fulfillments
- One of the greatest ways we will ruin our contentment with God is by missing out on intentional seasons he puts us in.
- When we start coveting after something that God did not give us, we blaspheme him because we think what he has provided is not enough.
- Servants: We will be discontent with the influence that we have when we look at the influence that other people have.
- When we covet the influence others have, we will never have enough influence or power to satisfy what is in our hearts, bringing ourselves to ruin.
- Ox or Donkey: Coveting the tools and wealth used to foster productivity in order to gain more.
The Remedy For Coveting
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
C.S. Lewis
- The offer that God gives to his people is to come and receive from him all that you are trying to get from everything else.
- We need to feast on the presence of God until we become full, not coveting the position of things around us. Our souls are starved for his presence.
- There is always an invitation to come and experience God, not just a knowledge or intellectual understanding about a far away God.
Additional Resources:
- 1 Timothy 6:6-12
- Proverbs 27:7
- Psalm 16:11
Dinner Party Questions:
- How does our tendency to covet reflect a lack of faith in God's goodness and provision? In what areas of your life do you find it most challenging to trust God's plan?
- How does understanding our identity in Christ and as children of God impact our contentment and reduce our inclination to covet?
- In what ways might coveting distract us from fully engaging in the opportunities and blessings God has already given us?
Put It Into Practice
- Practice Gratitude: Each day this week, write down 3 things within your "boundary lines" that you're grateful for.
- Limit Comparisons: Consider reducing time spent on social media this week. Use that time to connect with God through prayer, worship, or reading Scripture.
