“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.” - Exodus 20:17 (ESV)
It is all too easy to skip over the tenth and final commandment. "Covet" is not a common word in my vocabulary or that of others I commonly hear speak. However, to make an argument from this silence that coveting is not an issue is a mistake. An argument from silence is an argument for nothing. If anything, the evidence seems to support the view that the absence of overt speech about coveting is more due to the prevalence and acceptance of coveting than its absence.
Defining the Issue
What is coveting? The wording is simple enough. The tenth commandment provides a blanket prohibition against coveting anything that belongs to your neighbor. The word, "covet" is used 20 times in the Old Testament and means "to desire", "to take pleasure in", and "to delight in.” Therefore, the simplest reading of this command is to be content with what you have and not desire, take pleasure in, or delight in something that does not belong to you.
Why do we covet? It helps to go back to the garden of Eden. There we see a perfect woman noticing that something is covetable. What do you give to a woman who has everything? —something she should not have. Coveting is closely related to the first sin when Adam and Eve took the fruit and ate it. The tree is described as "desirable to make one wise,” i.e., covetable (Gen. 3:6). The word for "covet" in the New Testament is translated mostly as "to desire" (Matt. 13:17) and "to lust" (Matt. 5:28), although there is some variation. Coveting is all about wanting things we should not have. Coveting is not about wanting things you need. It is about wanting what you should not have.
Surely, then, discontentment is part of a proper description of contentment. Why do we get discontented? It must begin in the mind. We interpret some part of how we are on the inside to mean that we lack. There is some part of us that believes that there is something we would like but do not have, or that we would like to rid ourselves of in order to be content. This was part of the serpent’s strategy in the Garden. With its words, the serpent placed the idea in Eve’s mind that what she had was not good enough. The serpent did not deny the good in her circumstances, but placed before her appetite, literally and figuratively, something that he suggested was better. The strategy did not lie in convincing her that her situation was bad but in proposing to her that it could be better.
Why is desiring your neighbor's belongings a problem? It is again deceptively simple. To desire what my neighbor has says a lot about what is happening in my heart. And God is interested in what is happening in my heart. It is not enough to refrain from stealing from my neighbor or bearing false witness about my neighbor. God calls his people to have a right disposition of the heart to one another. It is no wonder that there are so many "one another" commands in the New Testament. Many of them are natural elaborations on this tenth commandment.
Coveting is antithetical to living for God through Christ. They are opposing poles. On the side of coveting, you have a selfish desire. On the side of Christ, you have a shepherd who makes it so that you never want (Psalm 23:1). Indeed, this idea helps us to see one reason why Psalm 23 is so powerful. The declaration that “I shall not want” because “the LORD is my shepherd” is an act of rebellion against my heart's inclination to perceive want or lack when there is not any. Eve failed in this regard by believing that the benefits of eating the fruit outweighed the consequences of disobeying God. In following Eve into this sin, Adam plunged the entire world into sin, corruption, and death.
Coveting and Conflict
James 4:1-3 helps us understand that coveting is at the root of conflict. James explains that conflict arises as a function of opposing desires. As people read about coveting today, they may think they do not have much of an issue with it. People tend to think of coveting as being discontent with your possessions. And this is certainly a form of discontent. People covet material possessions like clothes, jewelry, vehicles, houses, and innumerable other possessions that people around them have.
This is a big issue for many people, but not necessarily everyone. But it is hard to find a person who has not had some form of conflict recently. And what person is there that has had no conflict with anyone? We do not often see coveting at the root of our conflict, but there it is. We are more prone to blame other people's actions for our conflict than our own desires which war against theirs.
But perhaps we should back up to a more significant point. Coveting touches on a point that shows Scripture's opposition to a current prevailing worldview: that our desires are inherently good. But our desires are not inherently good.
We all desire. To desire is a basic function of our humanity. Desire itself is not evil. But the nature and object of that desire may be. This is a fruitful avenue for thinking and meditation.
As we consider our desires, we may ask ourselves "What kind of desire do I have?" A desire may be selfish or selfless, loving or hateful, gentle or harsh, humble or proud, etc. The object of our desire may also be permissible or not. The command makes clear that my neighbor's belongings may not be objects of my desire. I cannot desire my neighbor's car, house, spouse, etc.
It is possible for the object of desire to be permissible while the nature of the desire is not. A parent may desire his child to obey. Obedience is a good thing in itself. It is commanded by the Lord. But a parent may desire obedience for selfish, proud, and/or hateful reasons.
As we consider the command against coveting, we do well to remember the charge in Hebrews, which tells us, "Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'” (Heb. 13:5 ESV). We must be careful to consider our desires because the Lord will judge us for them. May we learn to be content with what we have, and to bless our neighbor rather than wishing we could have his or her things.