COVET GODLINESS—Exodus 20:17, 1 Timothy 6:6-11
Would it be good if everyone lived by the Ten Commandments? The answer seems obvious: Almost everyone agrees that life is better if people don’t murder, steal, or lie in a court of law. Maintaining marriage and honoring parents supports a healthy society, and the first four commandments about avoiding false gods and respecting the true God provide a solid foundation for morality and justice.
But what about the tenth commandment, “You shall not covet…”? Do we really need that? Coveting or desiring nice things doesn’t seem so bad. In fact, roughly two-thirds of the American economy depends upon consumer spending, and if people stopped wanting nice things, the economy would be plunged into recession.
The tenth commandment prohibits a particular kind of coveting—coveting what we cannot have: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:17)
But why does God put this commandment in his “top ten list” of commands? We already know our neighbor’s wife is off-limits; that was covered in the seventh commandment about adultery. We already know we must not steal our neighbor’s stuff; that was covered in the eighth commandment. Why is it wrong even to desire those things?
COVETING WRONGLY IS HARMFUL.
It robs us of contentment, disrupts relationships, and leads to evil actions.
1. COVETING WRONGLY ROBS US OF CONTENTMENT.
***I spent a year in seminary serving as an intern in a very small church. As it happened, one of my classmates in high school and college had finished medical school, and he was doing a residency in a nearby city. He invited me to come for dinner, and I was impressed by his nice home, his lovely wife and kids, and his impressive wages as an emergency room doctor. I had none of that, and my envy did not help me!**
As Proverbs 14:30 says, “…envy rots the bones.”
Worldwide studies on happiness have shown that, as long as people have enough to get by, money does not buy happiness. There is, however, a correlation between happiness and how people feel about their lives in comparison to others around them. Dissatisfaction and comparisons lead to discontent and unhappiness.
If contentment depends on keeping up with the Joneses, the Joneses keep getting farther ahead. For example, in 1950, the average new home was about 950 square feet. The average new home in 2018 was about 2600 sq. ft. A 1950s palace of 1500 square feet might be a little disappointing today, even as a starter home.
Of course, people covet more than money. The tenth commandment mentions the neighbor’s wife, house servants, and animals. Today, we might think about an attractive partner, good looks, a great job, along with the success and the acclaim that comes with them. When we covet, we want to be like “that guy,” or “that woman.” What is wrong with just being ourselves?
God commands us not to covet, because coveting robs us of contentment.
2. COVETING WRONGLY DESTROYS RELATIONSHIPS
James 4:1-3 says, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
Coveting can be deadly for relationships. Families split over an inheritance. Competitors can’t stand the sight of each other. Teenage girls grow claws. Gossip destroys people. The workplace becomes a cutthroat jungle. Power struggles erupt, even in churches.
3. COVETING WRONGLY LEADS TO EVIL ACTIONS.
For King David, coveting his neighbor’s wife, Bathsheba, led to adultery and even murder. For King Ahab (1 Kings 21), coveting Naboth’s vineyard led to a scheme involving false witness, murder, and finally stealing the vineyard from Naboth’s family.
1 Timothy 6:10 warns, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Money is not evil in itself, but the love of money can replace love for God with selfish desires. Instead of passionately seeking God, people who love money focus their passions on acquiring bank accounts, toys to enjoy the weekend, or the excitement of bawdy entertainment, gambling, or extravagant vacations.
Coveting wrongly goes beyond money. Deuteronomy 7:25 warns against coveting the gold on pagan idols. The allure of the idols went beyond the gold, for the gold represented prosperity and wealth. In today’s world, the gold might be the gold watch of a TV minister who flaunts his cars, airplane, and mansion. Many of today’s idols have little to do with religion, however. Coveting the lifestyle of a pop idol or sports star might ensnare a person in immoral behavior, while coveting the lifestyle of a rich investor might lead to shady business dealings.
Coveting wrongly is deadly. It robs us of contentment, disrupts relationships, and leads to evil.
HOW CAN WE OVERCOME COVETOUSNESS?
1. PRACTICE GRATITUDE.
Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:6-8, “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”
Do you regularly thank God for food and clothing? Everything we have comes from God, and we can be thankful for the necessities of life, as well as many luxuries. (That is almost a lost word! Our “needs” expand, and we feel “entitled” to what we have.) We have family and friends, health, freedom, opportunities, abilities, and undeserved blessings. The discipline of gratitude to God fosters contentment and joy.
In addition to the physical blessings of life, we have spiritual blessings, which are totally undeserved, a gift of God’s grace. With that in mind, Hebrews 13:5 says, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”
The discipline of gratitude is reinforced by the discipline of giving. Giving knocks the legs out from under coveting.
A rich man came to Jesus one day, asking him, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus suggested that a good start would be to keep God’s commandments, and he recited #5-9. The man was quite confident that he had kept all of those commandments, ever since he was young. Then Jesus told him to sell all that he had, give the money to the poor, and follow him. What was the point? The tenth commandment, which Jesus had not mentioned, was the sticky point for this man. Giving would help him overcome the covetousness in his life.
When we give, we are telling ourselves that our stuff doesn’t really belong to us. It belongs to God, and he gives it to us to enjoy.
2. CELEBRATE THE BLESSINGS OF OTHERS.
Romans 12:15-16 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.”
Your neighbor has a brand new vehicle in the driveway. A co-worker gets a promotion, a teammate wins a race, your friend’s kids excel. You face a decision: Will you envy their success, or rejoice with them? If you rejoice with them, you will be less inclined to covet what does not belong to you.
What if you are the one with the new boat, the promotion, or the award for achievement? What if you are the one everyone looks up to and wants to spend time with? When others covet what we have, the atmosphere of our relationships is poisoned.
We can’t stop others from coveting what we have, but we can do our part to change the atmosphere. Paul says, “Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.” If we look down on people who are less attractive, less successful, or less influential, we set both them and ourselves up for the sin of coveting. If we respect people and make room for them in our circle of friends and acquaintances, we change the atmosphere for all of us.
3. CULTIVATE GODLY AMBITION.
Keeping this commandment does not mean squelching all desire and waiting for good things to happen. Several proverbs condemn lazy people, and in Ephesians 4:28, Paul encourages the one who is stealing to get a job, so he can support himself and help others.
Some of us might need more desire, not less. Healthy desires motivate people to seek an education, get married, go to work, and succeed in life.
After warning Timothy about coveting money, Paul encouraged Timothy toward healthy ambition: “But you, man of God, flee from all this [covetousness], and PURSUE righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. (1 Timothy 6:11) Paul wanted Timothy to be ambitious for the things of God.
Although Paul warned Timothy about the love of money, wealth can be pursued, if the goal is providing for the needs of people.
***Ralph Broetje was 15 years old when a missionary visited his church in Washington. The missionary’s story created in Ralph a dream of someday having an apple orchard and giving the profits to needy people in India. Later, Ralph pursued his ambition to make money in the apple business. His persistence and business acumen paid off; the orchards expanded, and he added a packing plant.
During Christmas break one year, Ralph and his family went on a mission trip to Mexico. He and his wife “saw things in a different light,” as they recognized the struggles of people without opportunity. Going back to business in Washington, he realized that his employees needed year-round employment, dependable childcare, and a safe place to live. Pursuing his God-given ambition, he opened a day care center for his employees, invested in safe, affordable housing, established a Christian school, and offered scholarships. The Broetjes reached out to their employees, listening to their concern and encouraged community development, saying, “Everyone is important. No one is better.”
Unsurprisingly, First Fruits Orchards has prospered, and the Broetjes have invested in schools and servant leadership development throughout the world.**
Pursue godly desires!
Pursue wealth, so you can help others. Pursue marriage and a healthy family, to bless your community. Pursue success in your work, so you can bless others. Pursue power and influence (carefully!), so you can lead and influence others. Pursue popularity (carefully, as you may be tempted), so that you can associate with those others consider to be beneath them.
Be passionate about life. Be ambitious, and pursue the things God has for you. But direct your passion, your pursuit, your ambition to serving God and serving others.
We are finishing our series on the Ten Commandments. The commandments are not a set of dos and don’ts. They are a guide to serving God, in the freedom of obedience to the God who redeems us from slavery to sin and wrong.
Our redemption from sin and wrong finds fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who redeems us through his cross and resurrection, and his Spirit in us. We need his help to live the healthy life he intends for us.
The law of God reminds us that we fall short of God’s best for us, and we come to Christ for forgiveness and grace. We are forgiven, not because we keep God’s commandments pretty well, but because we accept Christ as the way to enter into a life with God.
We are forgiven in Christ, but we still struggle with sin. Perhaps the Holy Spirit is convicting you of sins you should confront, or giving you hope of victory over recurring sins that keep you from the fullness of life with Christ. We know, as it says in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and PURIFY US from all unrighteousness.” You are not in this battle alone; the Spirit of God is in you, to give you a life of freedom and hope.
God wants to set us free from sin, through Christ, and his commandments guide us in a life of freedom. Do we trust him enough to follow his way to freedom?
