Number Ten

“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour’s.”

To properly comprehend this command we need to define some terms, covet, envy, and jealousy. To covet is “to feel inordinate desire for what belongs to another. Envy: “painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage”. Jealousy: to be “intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness” or “vigilant in guarding a possession”. Number Ten is the commandment that lies at the heart of the preceding commandments. It speaks to the motivation behind the actions in each of them. While on Earth Jesus emphasized the importance of our motives and the thoughts we harbour in our minds (Matthew 5:17-30). These lie at the foundation of our characters, which is all we will take into eternity.

Covetousness was the motive of the first sin. The serpent tempted the woman, suggesting to her that in eating the fruit she would become “as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5, 6). When she thought about the words of the serpent and she saw the fruit as something to make her wise she took it. The woman desired to be more than she was created to be. She desired an advantage that was not hers to have, and when she gained it, it resulted in her down fall.

Envy and covetousness are dangerous, powerful emotions. They are the motives behind the origin of evil (Isaiah 14:12-15). A created angel decided he wanted to be greater than God and as a result has fallen lower than God’s lowest creation (Matthew 25:41). His envy has been manifested in lies and murders and the trampling of all of God’s commands (John 8:44). The wise man tells us: “Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?” Proverbs 27:4. Wrath and anger are terrible emotions to deal with but they subside. Envy is seething and at times imperceptible and it is only when the breaking of the other commandments come to bare that the covetous motive behind them can be seen. Beware of covetousness.

Some people use the terms ‘envy’ and ‘jealousy’ interchangeable, but this is not right. Envy refers to desiring something that is NOT yours. Jealousy refers to desiring something that IS yours. God describes Himself as a “jealous God” (Exodus 20:5; 34:14, Deuteronomy 2:24; 6:15). He does so because He is very protective of what is His. Our worship, belong to Him, our gratitude belong to Him, our very lives belong to Him (by creation and redemption) (Acts 17:28). Therefore, He guards His creatures that accept and acknowledge Him jealously.

There is a statement that many of us have heard from childhood: “beware of the green eyed monster”. This is sage advise, envy has lead to murder, theft, adultery, and the most heinous lies against God, our parents and our fellow man. Harbouring this feeling and will lead to our destruction and the injury of all around us. BEWARE!

In Love