The Tenth Commandment

The Ten Commandments end with a final warning about coveting. What in the world is coveting?

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 belongs to your neighbor.”

Coveting means to wants something. Have you ever seen your neighbor drive up their driveway with a brand new car? You know what I’m talking about. Your heart is instantly drawn to it and you start thinking, “I want one of those!”

That is what coveting is all about. It’s not about the car or any of the other stuff. Coveting is all about the heart. The problem with coveting is that you desire something that is not leading you to God.

You might have heard this saying before: “Money is the root of all evil.” Is money really all that bad? Is money so evil that it ruins everything? The answer lies in the actual bible verse that it comes from. Read the whole verse and see what it really says.

1 Timothy 6:10

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

That’s a little different, isn’t it? It’s not the money that is evil. It’s the love for it. Our desire should not be about money. Nor should it be for cars, or someone else’s wife or for anything else. There is only one desire that should drive your passions and your soul. That is a desire for a deep, fulfilling relationship with the Living God.

Psalms 42:1-2

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God...”

I should want only one thing. He is my one desire ... in Him will I trust.