The tenth commandment is: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house . . . nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. (Exod 20:17)
The Hebrew word for covet means desire, but perhaps a better idea of when this desire becomes sinful, is gained from the Greek word translated covet, and used by Paul when he repeated the commandment: Thou shalt not covet. (Rom 7:7) This word means fix the mind on, or long after. This implies that the mind has been unchecked.
The question must be asked, Is it wrong to covet anything that does not belong to us? or, Is it only wrong if it belongs to someone else? I believe the latter is the case. That is, that it is not sinful to say in your heart, I would like a nice car, or, I would like a big house. But it is wrong to say in your heart, I would like my friend’s car.
I think this for two reasons. Firstly, the commandment not to covet belongs to the second table of the Law, which have to do primarily with sins against our neighbour, rather than sins against God. Paul says that the commandment: Thou shalt not covet . . . is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour. (Rom 13:9,10)
If I think, I wish I had my neighbour’s car, I become jealous of my neighbour, and can no longer be his true friend, because I desire his possessions rather than his friendship. In effect I am wishing him harm because I am wanting to take away some of his possessions. Such covetousness is theft in the heart. But if I see an advertisement on television for a car and desire it, I am wishing no harm to my neighbour and no earthly relationship is damaged.
The second reason that I think that it is only sinful to covet our neighbour’s goods, is that God promises blessings of goods. It cannot be sinful to desire what God promises.
Regarding menservants and maidservants, God promised the Jews: the labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine. (Isaiah 45:14) And regarding the millennial rule: strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. (Isaiah 61:5) And also: strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob . . . and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids. (Isaiah 14:1,2)
And regarding riches, God said: when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, and houses full of good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees which thou plantedst not; when thou shall have eaten and be full. (Deut 6:10,11)
So now that we have seen what the commandment forbids and allows, let us see the importance of the commandment. Jesus said: from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts . . . covetousness . . . All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. (Mark 7:21-23) It was this commandment that convinced Paul that he was a sinner. He said: I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. (Rom 7:7)
Those who are given to coveting other people’s possessions do not have eternal life. Paul writes: Be not deceived: neither . . . covetous nor . . . shall inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Cor 6:9,10) Covetousness is not a characteristic of a true Christian. Paul continues: such were some of you. He says were, not are. And also Paul says: no . . . covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. (Eph 5:5) We must keep all of the Ten Commandments. Jesus said: if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. (Matt 19:17) But just as God put a difference between the children of Israel who perished in the wilderness through disobedience with their names being perpetuated in the lands of their children, and those who defied God who went down alive into the pit; so God puts a difference between the foolish and disobedient who lose some or all of their reward but are not punished, and the God haters, who suffer wrath.
But whilst it is not a sin to think, ‘I would like a nice car’, we should not be completely given to such thoughts, nor should we be ungrateful for what we have. We must thank God for His provision.
The children of Israel sinned by complaining about their food, which was manna. They said: our soul loatheth this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. (Num 21:5,6) There was nothing wrong with the bread; it was like wafers made with honey. They gathered it every morning, and sometimes, in the evening, God gave them quails, or meat, to eat. But they wanted more meat and less bread: neither were thankful. (Rom 1:21) And they did not enter into the land of Canaan. God was angry with them, but he pardoned them according to Moses prayer. They shall not see God. Perhaps they shall live in the good land of Africa for ever, God being merciful.
Solomon is a counter-example. When God appeared to him in a dream, saying: Ask what I shall give thee. (2 Chron 1:7) Solomon did not ask for riches, but answered: Give me now wisdom and knowledge . . . for who can judge this thy people, that is so great? (2 Chron 1:10) This pleased God, that Solomon had not asked to benefit himself, but rather to benefit God’s people. And so God promised to bless him, as well as to answer his request. God said: I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like. (1 Chron 1:12)
Whether God blesses us abundantly or not, we are admonished: be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Heb 13:5) Paul said: I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. (Phil 4:11,12)
If we have riches, we need grace, not to be pre-occupied with them. David says: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them. (Psalm 62:10) Riches can take our mind away from faith. And so we are exhorted: beware lest thou forget the Lord. (Deut 6:12) Jesus exhorts us to remember the word of God, lest: the deceitfulness of riches choke the word. (Matt 13:22) We are exhorted: Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth . . . When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (Col 3:2,4)
So what is the conclusion of the matter: godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. (1 Tim 6:6,7)
Jesus said that the generous have: bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not. (Luke 12:33) We should not spiritualise these money bags into meaningless symbols of what we do not understand or particularly desire. We must simply believe what Jesus says. If we want to be more spiritual than Jesus’ words, and only have higher motives, those higher motives may be insufficient to outweigh earthly covetousness.