Commandment #10- Getting Freed From Greed
“You shall not covet
your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or
female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Exodus 20:17
We are a people of
coveters. It’s always been the
case. The Bible is full of stories of
people who caught the “Coveting Virus” and it led to pain and challenges as it
is an “Undefeated Foe.” From Adam
and Eve coveting the forbidden fruit to the Rich Young Ruler unwilling to let
go of His materialistic hold, it’s
something that everyone will battle more often than we can imagine.
Not only was it
difficult when God gave Command #10, it has become even more difficult because
there is an “all out assault” to create dissatisfaction
in your life. Guess how much money was spent on
marketing, commercials,
catalogues, the internet, and more just a few years ago in
the US? $1.074 trillion. That’s because they know that they can make people
want it. They can make it look like everyone else has it and they are happy. So, you need it too. So they can make you
charge something else or pursue other things… going into debt for something you
can’t afford or paying a price that’s greater than you want to pay. Credit cards and unnecessary purchases can be
just a few of them while repercussions can be another.
Author Michael
Moriarity writes, “Never has a culture experienced such physical comfort
combined with such psychological misery. Never have we felt so free or had our
prisons so overstuffed. Never have we been so sophisticated above pleasure or
so likely to suffer broken relations.”
We too often thing “more” is the answer when we find that it is not.
God knew well in
advance that a common denominator of greed would be a battle we all face. In Exodus 20:17, He shared the final
commandment, “You shall not covet your
neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or
female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
(NIV) Only when we realize our inherent struggle can we discover the One
who helps us overcome our struggles
J. Oswald Sanders
wrote, “Coveting, as Paul discovered,
leads us to break all the commandments. David broke the tenth commandment
coveting his neighbor’s wife. That led to adultery, which broke the seventh
commandment. Then, in order to steal Bathsheba (thereby breaking the eighth
commandment), he committed murder and broke the sixth commandment. He broke the
ninth commandment bearing false witness against his brother. This all brought
dishonor to his parents, breaking the fifth commandment. David eventually broke
all the commandments that relate to loving one’s neighbor. He also dishonored
God as well, finally
breaking all of the commandments.” If it can happen to David, it happens to
you and me more often than we like to think.
The core issue God is getting at is the contentment is not a matter of
the outward things in our lives but the inward condition of our hearts. Only when we find fulfillment in God will we
find peace in life regardless of possessions.
A rich industrialist
who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat.
"Why aren’t you out there fishing?" he asked. "Because I’ve caught enough fish for
today," said the fisherman. "Why don’t you catch more fish than you
need?’ the rich man asked. "What would I do with them?""You
could earn more money," came the impatient reply, "and buy a better
boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets,
catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you’d have a fleet of boats and
be rich like me." The fisherman asked, "Then what would I
do?" "You could sit down and
enjoy life," said the industrialist. The fisherman said, "What do you
think I’m doing right now?!" The
story makes an important point. You don’t have to have a lot of money or things
to enjoy your life! We forget that
sometimes. We fall into the trap of
thinking that we’ve got to have more and more.
We’re misled into believing that life is missing something unless we
have what the world tells us we need to have to be happy.
After meeting
Christ, Paul learned that contentment wasn’t based on what He had or who He was
but what Christ had and Who Christ was.
In Philippians 4:11, 12, he writes, “I know how to live on almost nothing or
with everything. I’ve learned the secret of contentment in
every situation.” Paul reminds us that contentment is something
that has to be learned. It’s not
something that comes naturally. By
nature, you and I are naturally discontented coveters. The way you learn
contentment is to start doing the things that bring it. Knowing the One who offers it…consistent
thankfulness…praise and Scripture…learning to extend resources…and receiving
His power. It is then we being to learn
how to be “freed from greed” and to get out of the grip of covetousness. As Jesus said, “Whom the Son sets free, is
free indeed.” It really does work no
matter what you have or don’t have today.
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1) What area can most consume you in coveting?
2) How is your thankfulness quotient today?
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright
2014- Terry Risser
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