Covet
Text: Exodus 20:17
Introduction:
· Put in simple terms, this command simply says that we should quit worrying about what our neighbor has. It is his, not ours. We need not be like, better than, or superior to our neighbor. Set our priorities on God, not our neighbor’s possessions. Leave our neighbor’s possessions alone. Leave our neighbor’s mate alone, and be satisfied with what God has given us.
· This is the one command that deals with the heart and attitudes, not outward actions.
Covetousness is an uncontrolled desire to acquire.
(Ecc. 5:10) "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity."
(1 Ki. 21:4) "And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread."
(James 4:1-2) "From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? {2} ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not."
(Luke 12:15) "And he said unto them, take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth."
(1 Ti. 6:17) "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;"
(1 Ti. 6:6) "But godliness with contentment is great gain."
(Phil. 4:12-13) "I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. {13} I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
(Heb. 13:5) "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
(Matt. 6:19-21) "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: {20} but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: {21} for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (2 Co.r 9:6) "but this I say, he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully."
When the giraffes got off the ark, they overheard two elephants talking. One complained, “What a lousy trip, it rained the whole time.”
From The
Ten Commandments by Dr. Laura
Schlessinger, p. 309-311
David one of
my listeners wrote to us about his revelation with respect to this latter
issue: “I am 37 years old and happily married with three children. My story
starts when my first daughter was born. Both my wife and I were very career
oriented and both working I for an aerospace company and my wife teaching for a
school district. We were very comfortable with the lifestyle our double-income
family afforded us. My wife was intent on returning to work after our baby was
born and continue in a career outside the home. I not only found her position
acceptable but encouraged it. Our precious little baby came at the end of the
school year and my wife spent almost four months of the summer home with our
new little Natalie. We worked hard on locating the best possible day care for
our daughter. At the end of the summer our days consisted of getting the new
baby up at 5:30 A.M. and taking her to day care picking her up at the end of
the day and then spending a few brief moments at home with her--feeding her and
getting her ready for bed only to wake up the next morning and do it all over
again.
After about
five months of this my wife made a radical milestone change in our lives by
deciding to increase her commitment to our child and future children by staying
home and being a full-time mother. I was not only surprised by this decision
but opposed it. I respected her decision and felt it was her decision to make
but I was worried about the impact to our lifestyle with the loss of a second
income. You see looking back I not only enjoyed her working but I coveted the
money she was making. I knew (hoped?) deep down that after a few months of
being home my wife would get bored and then return to work so we could return
to the days of spending and selfish living. With my wife's continued resolve to
be at home we then made significant changes to our lifestyle by moving into a
smaller more affordable home we drove older vehicles and we got rid of the
adult toys that a double income had afforded us.
I can now
say four years later and with tears in my eyes that I am the happiest
person/man/father in the world and the proudest husband of a wife who decided
to stay at home to be a real mother to her children. I am a convert to the
importance of children being able to have their mother home all day with them
to love them to hold them to play with them and nurture them. I am a convert to
what is really important in life and where all of my time effort and ability need
to go to our children.