“Thou shalt not covet…” (Exodus 20:17)
The opposite of covetousness is contentment.
In the age of Moses, societies that coveted would go on
conquests and try to take what they wanted with violence. People who envied the Jones family
wouldn’t work to have what the Jones family had; they would attack and loot the
Jones family instead. (I’m really
glad I don’t live back then..)
In modern times, covetousness traps us in acquisitiveness
and prevents us from enjoying what we have. It traps us in a hostile envious state of mind that gets in
the way of us realizing the work we need to put in to be blessed the same way.
Covetousness sees any reduction in the amount of goods one
has as a threat, rather than a blessing, no matter the reason, no matter the
goods. Covetousness sees more as
better, no matter what.
Covetousness has no conception of priorities or stewardship, no idea of
consecration, no way to tell how much is enough, and no enjoyment of
security. Security is always just
out of reach.
Now, let’s look at the full verse.
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)
If you notice, these are all tangible things listed.
What about spiritual
things? Is it okay to covet our
neighbor’s spiritual gifts? Perhaps, if it provokes us to pray and
seek for obtain those gifts ourselves in order to bless others as our neighbor
does. And the cool thing
about spiritual gifts is that they can’t be taken away and they don’t clutter
the house! J
Do you need extra help with organizing and de-cluttering? Hire me! Go to www.phoenixhomeorganizing.com for more information about my services! Did this article help you? Be sure to share it with your friends!
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