EXODUS 20:17 – You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.
THEME OF THE DAY: THE OPEN DOOR TO ALL SIN. Here is a quick one question Bible quiz. Of the Ten Commandments which one stands out and leads to a breaking of all the other nine? Which one is the door, that if disobeyed and allowed, opens us to all other kinds of sin? Well, let’s make this an open book test. Here are the Ten Commandments – (1) You shall have no other gods before me, (2) You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth, (3) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, (4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, (5) Honor your father and your mother, (6) You shall not murder, (7) You shall not commit adultery, (8) You shall not steal, (9) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor, and (10) You shall not covet (Exodus 20:3-17).
So, what is the answer to the quiz? It is the tenth commandment – You shall not covet. Why does this one lead to the breaking of all others? Before we answer that, let’s define this sin. Coveting means to desire, wish, long for, or crave something to a fault or detrimentally, especially the property of another person. It is a heart sin and not difficult to see how it directs us to break the others because of what is behind it – the sin of discontentment.
Applying this to the Ten Commandments, we need to understand those ten define relationships. The first four describe what is required in our relationship with God while the last six with human beings. To commit the sin of coveting is to say to the Lord, “I am not satisfied with what You have given me in my relationships with You and others” but let’s focus on the chief relationship in life; the Lord. By coveting, we tell Him, “I am not contented with You. My relationship with You is not enough. I need something or someone more to fulfill me.”
When it comes to coveting, it is a matter of the heart negatively impacting the relationships with the living God and other human beings because it is loveless. As Francis Schaeffer wrote, “Coveting is the reverse side of love”. Why? Coveting reveals selfishness, not selflessness. It points to placing self-interests and understanding above the Lord and others. Coveting is not self-denying but self-expressing and is the very antithesis to the call of Christ to His people.
So in our walks with the Lord, do some heart evaluation for the presence of the sin of coveting. It might be last in the list of Ten Commandments but it will be the fuel that leads to not only breaking all the other commandments but doing the most damage in our relationships with the Lord and people.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to not only see but believe and pursue the only source of contentment in life is You.”
QUOTE: “To find God the only source of satisfaction in life comes when we see the futility of trying to find it in the world.”