Deuteronomy 5:21 – Make God our desire in life

The tenth commandment states, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” What is coveting? Coveting is an inner attitude. It is a disproportionate desire for someone or something that belongs to another. Desiring for someone else’s spouse would lead to adultery. And desiring someone else's property, such as the house, field, servants, maids, and animals would lead to greed.

The emphasis of this commandment is on the motivation more than the act itself. Underpinning this attitude of covetousness is the feeling of self-importance. This commandment addresses the attitude that would harm one’s relationship with others. Coveting is usually a hidden inner activity, and it is appealing because one can practice it without any public exposure. Before we think that it is safe to indulge in it, consider the warning of the Lord Jesus in Mark 7:220-23. He said, “…That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,  deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

Socrates rightly said, “if we are not contented with what we have, we will not be contented with what we would like to have.” Coveting is a common spiritual virus that attacks everyone. More so in our culture of “grab all you can, can all you grab and sit on the can.” Nonetheless, we must deal with it rigorously. Like every other thing, we need the help of the Lord to deal with our hidden sin of covetousness. We must learn to be contented and live with what we have and not what we do not have. Meanwhile, learn to differentiate between what you need and what you want. Inordinately desiring what we want is often the start of the trouble. Make God our primary desire in life. It will set you up in the right direction. Make Psalm 27:4 our goal in life. Like David make this our yearning in life:  

“One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.”