The 10th Commandment
- (Exodus 20:17) You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.COVETOUSNESS is defined as being an IMMODERATE desire to possess something, especially materialistic objects connected with wealth. It manifests because we (being a part of society that measures success by visible signs like affluence and achievements) are in a continuous process of upgrading our possessions, knowing full well that ‘it is never enough’.(Ecclesiastes 5:10) He who loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver and he who loves abundance not with gain.
It is said that the sin of covetousness is very subtle and very difficult to detect…..but the signs are visible, namely:
– Loving things and using people rather than loving people and using things.
– Becoming stingy with what God have given and then giving God the leftovers.
– Becoming preoccupied with our possession and jealous of what others have
Having said that, we must also remember that it is good for a Christian to have AMBITION that cannot be confused with CONTENTIOUSNESS, provided we do not:
– Comprise our Christian value along to the road to our goal.
– Become hard hearted and move away from God
– We stop acknowledging God’s grace and inflate our ego.
The Bible says the COVETEOUSNESS has to be put to death.
(Colossians 3:5) Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness (which is idolatry).
We can get rid of it by being CONTENT!!
(Philippians 4:11) Not that I speak according to need, for I have learned to be content in whatever state I am.
(1Timothy 6:6) But godliness with contentment is great gain.
We can be CONTENT by:
1. Understanding that Jesus is the true source of contentment (Philippians 4:12-13).
2. Seeking first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33).
3. Acknowledging that God is in control of our situation (Romans 8:28).
4. Being thankful for what we already have (Hebrews 13:5).
5. Not taking things for granted, stopping grumbling and starting giving (Numbers 11:6) & (Acts 20:35)
This Message was shared by Nelson Dmello on 25th September 2016
