The Ninth and Tenth Commandments

As you lie in bed thinking about your life, what do you wish you had?

Imagine walking through a neighborhood and seeing a beautiful house.

At first, you simply admire it.

Then a thought creeps in.

I wish I had a house like that.

A few moments later, admiration turns into dissatisfaction.

“Why don’t I have what they have?” you think.

That is how coveting often begins; not with an action, with a desire.

The Ninth and Tenth Commandments are unique because they deal almost entirely with what happens inside us. They expose something the other commandments have been revealing all along: sin is not merely about what we do. It begins in the heart.

God says not to covet our neighbor’s house, spouse, workers, possessions, or anything that belongs to them.

Why?

Because He knows what coveting does.

It poisons contentment. It turns blessings into disappointments. It causes us to compare our lives to everyone else’s. Instead of thanking God for His gifts, we become consumed with what He has given someone else.

And in our age of social media, that temptation is stronger than ever.

We see carefully edited snapshots of other people’s lives. Their vacations. Their homes. Their families. Their successes.

Soon we can begin measuring our lives against theirs.

The result is rarely gratitude. More often, it is resentment.

The Ninth and Tenth Commandments remind us that God not only cares about our actions. He cares about our desires, motives, and attitudes.

And that is where these commandments leave us without excuses.

Perhaps we have not stolen,…but have we wanted what wasn’t ours?

Perhaps we have not harmed our neighbor,…but have we envied them?

The commandments have brought us to the same conclusion again and again:

We need a Savior.

The Law reaches all the way into our hearts and shows us that we cannot make ourselves righteous before God.

But Jesus came for hearts like ours.

Throughout His earthly life, He was perfectly content in His Father’s will. He never envied. Never coveted. Never grasped for what was not His. In fact, He emptied Himself and became servant to all.

And then He went to the cross for those who do envy and covet.

• For people who are dissatisfied.
• For people who compare.
• For people who always want more.
• For us.

In Christ, there is forgiveness for covetous hearts. And through His Spirit, God begins teaching us a different way to live.

• A life of gratitude.
• A life of trust.
• A life that finds its greatest treasure not in what it possesses, but in the One who possesses it.

Let’s pray…

Lord God,

Forgive me for the times I have been dissatisfied with Your gifts and desired what belongs to others. Give me a thankful heart and teach me to trust in Your provision. Help me to find my contentment in Christ, who has given me forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.