Thou shalt not covet

“He who covets the mere material ‘things’ of life may have ‘other gods before him,’ and may ‘bow down before them,’ in thought and in spirit, if not in physical fact.

“He who covets may become coarse and careless in other things also, such as taking ‘the name of the Lord God in vain.’

“He who covets may desecrate the Sabbath day to get gain.

“He who covets may fail to sustain his father and his mother in their need.

“Some who have coveted have killed to get gain.

“Many who have coveted a ‘neighbour’s wife’ have committed the grievous sin of adultery.

“He who covets is more likely to steal (or to swindle or embezzle or engage in sharp practices).

“He who covets may bear false witness to get gain.

“And so again: The tenth commandment is inseparably integrated with all the others, and coveting could lead to infraction of all the others—for there is a wholeness in life in which each part complements the other. And there is a wholeness and harmony in the word of God, and it all comes from the same source. And whenever we ignore any divine counsel or commandment, we can be sure that we weaken ourselves and increase our susceptibility to other sins. . . .

“The commandment against covetousness does not mean that we should not have a wholesome discontent or a wholesome desire to improve ourselves or our situation. It does not mean that we should not have an honest ambition to have more of the better things of life. It does not mean that we may not admire what our neighbor has, and seek by our own industry to earn things of like worth. The earth holds plenty for all—and the urge to acquire for ourselves such good things as other men have is a productive quality of character—provided that we acquire them by honest effort, by lawful means, and by keeping life well-balanced. The danger comes when mere ‘things’ begin to matter too much.” (Richard L. Evans, in “The Tenth Commandment,” Part 1, The Ten Commandments Today, p. 142–44.)

One part of coveteousnes I was thinking about is ingratitude. When you are ungrateful usually you covet something someone else has. Whether that be a job, an item, someone’s family, good health, etc. In these times we are ungrateful we fail to see what God truly has given us. Job in the Old Testament is an awesome example of being grateful in the midst of some crazy trials.