The Journey Continues: Thou Shalt Not 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 KJV

I grew up in a Christian household, and my mom was a devout Christian woman. But she was also human, and one of her foibles was always wanting something "better". During my childhood my mom convinced my dad on two occasions to sell our home and move either closer to her mother's, or closer to the schools that my brothers and I attended (both times we ended up staying in our house). Even after my parents bought their retirement home in a beach community, and their house was 10-minute walk to the beach, my mom wanted a house up on the hill with a view of the ocean. This rubbed off on me: I've long had a "the grass is always greener" attitude, and to this day, I like to shop for cars that I cannot purchase, or homes that are way out of my wife's and my income. 

As my prayer life has grown, I have added thankfulness to my daily prayers. And as I daily thank The Lord for the blessings in my life, I have gained an understanding of the 10th Commandment: covetousness is not wanting something more, or something you don't have as much as not being satisfied with what you DO have. I wasn't expecting that. Covetousness is saying to God "You have given to me, but I'm not happy with it. I want more". It makes us see God solely as a provider, not necessarily of our needs, but of our wants. And so if we pray and don't get what we WANT, we turn on God, and demand more. But God's promise is to provide for our needs, not our wants: "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 ESV 

This turned the 10th Commandment on its ear for me. It made me more thankful for all the blessings that God has given me, be they spiritual, physical, emotional or material. It's still too easy for me to covet: that is hard-wired into my DNA. But it makes me recognize that I need to be more thankful for what God HAS given me. And in that spirit of thankfulness I find that there is a great joy.