The Color of Covet
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 any thing that is thy neighbour’s. – Exodus 20:17
This verse, one of the commandments, clearly speaks against coveting. To covet means to enviously desire something that belongs to someone else. You man think coveting is not a big deal and wonder why it would be a commandment. However, coveting reveals deeper problems.
To covet is selfish, and selfishness is the opposite of love. God is love and has commanded us to walk in it. When acting in love, we rejoice in our neighbor’s good fortune. We want to see them do well. Matthew 22:39 says, “… Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”. This means we are happy to see our neighbour blessed just as we are happy when we are blessed ourselves.
Coveting means, for some reason, we lack faith to believe God will bless us as He has the other. We must not limit what He can and will do in our lives. (Hebrews 11:6)
Coveting goes deep within us. Proverbs 14:30 says, “A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones”. Our bones are the very frame on which the rest of our body is built. Anything in the bones affects everything else within us. Coveting or envy can negatively influence a person’s character and produce hateful, destructive behavior.
So, coveting or envy indicates problems with a person’s love-walk, faith in God, and character. It is not a small thing. It is unnecessary because God can and will bless one as He blesses another. (Psalms 84:11) With God’s help, the root cause can be identified and overcome. No need to be destroyed by envy when we can be edified by faith.
