SR • December 2015
15
already belong to another. This includes simple ownership:
their house, their wealth or livestock; and more interpersonal
“belonging” like one’s spouse or servants. No setting your heart
upon someone else’s stuff.
I Want That — Logical and Prac cal
In most views of reality, this “coveting” makes total sense! It is
logical; it is practical. It is entirely natural and inevitable,
maybe, to look at those who have more and say “I want that.”
I want that!
If life is a ladder, it is only natural to look for the next rung. If
life is a race, you are looking at and chasing whoever is in front
of you. If life is monopoly, everyone knows who has the most
money and covets as much of his money and property as he
can! This all makes sense! Super logical. And God simply says
“No.”?
This command is
completely unenforceable
. No penalty listed.
No penalties to come in later laws as there were for the earlier
commandments. No human being can really know if you are
coveting your neighbor’s stuff. You can so easily hide this. This
is inside your head and heart. Maybe even just a small voice
you try to silence…and no one knows the envy within you!
Especially when it is really something you desperately want..or
something you have prayed for...asked for...waited for.
Root of Sin
We see easily how coveting can be a root of sin. We could work
our way through the rest of the Nine:
1. Desiring an easier life and more blessings: we can chase
after other gods,
2. ...or seek to manipulate God via idols.
3. Wanting to trade on the reputation of God for material
gain: we use the name of God for our own purposes.
4. Wanting to trade more time for more stuff: we hijack
God’s day for work.
5. Resenting our parents for not meeting all our wants: we
dishonor them.
6. Our want translates to hate and murder.
7. Our want translates to lust and adultery.
8. Our want leads us to steal.
9. And our coveting that of our neighbor leads us to lie and
deceive to tear that neighbor down to size!
This really rears its head when we think of the purpose of the
law, the summary of righteousness — to love God and love our
neighbor as ourselves. What a symptom of a lack of love: instead
of feeling happy for someone, I just crave what he has. What a
barrier to love is envy. What a poison in a relationship.
Envy is a seed that takes root — it is the beginning, the birth
of something.
James hits this on the head. Coveting is a seed that grows:
James 1:14-15
14
But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by
his own desire.
15
Then desire when it has conceived gives birth
to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Desire
(same word in the Greek as is used when translating the
ten commandments into Greek). Coveting desire, want!
This is a root of all kinds of evil!
Solu on — Living by the Request
So, we all are covetous, envious people…and it is a root of all
kinds of sin…
It also seems so natural and easy. So much of our world and
culture is aimed at feeding into this enviousness and covetous-
ness. Commercials where everyone is laughing, having fun and
everything looks beautiful are all carefully orchestrated to leave
you saying, “I want that!”
We live in a culture and economy of envy.
How do I actually stop coveting? How do I “police” my heart?
How do I silence that little voice within that whispers, “I want
what he has”? When I see my neighbor driving a car I want, do I
just slap myself in the face? Squeeze really hard? Distract my-
self? Go buy my own car so I don’t have to covet his?
There’s a solution! Since God says “do not covet your neigh-
bor’s stuff…” there has to be a way. This command doesn’t
mark a dead-end past where you just live in guilt, it marks out a
path of righteousness, it shows us a boundary.
James 4:1-3
1
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come
from your desires that battle within you?
2
You desire but do not
have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want,
so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not
ask God.
3
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask
with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your
pleasures.
Don’t chase after the gifts…ask the Giver!
Your focus is entirely on the wrong thing. If you know someone
who is amazing at giving out the best Christmas gifts on earth…
don’t chase after every gift He has given someone else! Make
friends with that guy…then ask Him over for Christmas!
Strategy.
Jesus, brother of James (love that guy), said it this way:
Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, then all
these things will be added to you!
This is going to be the pattern of the nation of Israel and God: a
people who keep chasing after what everyone else has, turning
away from God.
No human being can really know if you are coveting your neighbor’s stuff.
Continued on next page..
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