"Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's." (Exodus 20:17)
Covetousness implies a sense of delight in, and desire to possess, some object, especially by unjust and unlawful means. It is to set the heart on something belonging to another and to which one has no right without an adequate return for the value received. In an evil sense covetousness is inordinate desire or affection. In the New Testament it is often translated "desire," "lust," and "concupiscence." It is a desire to possess what is not lawfully obtainable. If the desired object can be obtained lawfully, it is not a sin to desire what we do not possess. It is wrong to covet when the thing desired is out of reach through legitimate means. It is a sin to want my neighbor's property to the extent that I would get it by almost any means. Covetousness is concentrated selfishness and is universally condemned throughout the Scriptures.
The other nine commandments have to do chiefly with the outward conduct--with overt acts. But the tenth reaches into the inner life and regulates the motives that give birth to deeds. The thoughts are the parents of the acts. This command may therefore be transgressed without the knowledge of others. It is the most heart searching of all the commands of the law. The thoughts and intents of the heart are the fountain from which words and deeds flow, and this last command goes back to the very source of sin. It prohibits the evil desire that gives birth to unlawful conduct.
The tenth commandment shows that when we set covetous eyes on what is not ours, it is as much a sin as the act of stealing itself. Our desires are actions in embryo. Even though the evil desires never reach the stage of conduct, they are in themselves sinful in the sight of God. The sinful inclination of the heart is a transgression of the law with the penalty of eternal death. Obedience to the decalogue must include the thoughts and motives as well as the words and deeds. These righteous precepts cannot be kept by any person who has a desire to break them.
"Trace every breach of the moral law, whether murder, adultery, theft, slander, or any of the sins of which these are the heads and representatives, back to their source, and it will be found that it has been suggested and inspired by one or another of the vices of which covetousness is the chief."--John Burr, Studies on the Ten Commandments, p. 146.
Summary of the Law
Since covetousness is the sin that leads to all other sins, the tenth commandment is a summary, not only of the second table of the decalogue, but of the whole law. The violation of this precept may lead to the transgression of every other. Covetousness is the fountain from which flow the poisonous streams of idolatry, hypocrisy, Sabbath desecration, disobedience to parents, murder, fornication, stealing, and lying or the bearing of false witness.
The apostle Paul connects the tenth with the first commandment in the following texts: "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry." (Colossians 3:5) "This you know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, bath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." (Ephesians 5:5)
Like the Bible itself, the decalogue ends where it begins, thus making a complete circle, the emblem of perfection. The law of God is complete, perfect, and eternal. It contains a depth and comprehensiveness that is immeasurable and includes every virtue within the range of human duty. It also strictly and directly prohibits every vice within reach of human conduct. It contains "the whole duty of man."
The tenth commandment is virtually repeated in Deuteronomy 5:21: 'Whither shall thou desire thy neighbor's wife, neither shall thou covet thy neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or anything that is thy neighbor's." This shows that the law against coveting is a single precept and cannot be divided into two separate commands, as is done by the Roman Catholics and other religious bodies. Seven times in the tenth commandment we are reminded that the thing coveted belongs to another. After naming seven of man's possessions, for fear that something else might be found to covet, the all-inclusive statement is added, "or anything that is thy neighbor's."
David wrote, "The wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth." (Psalms 10:3)
The counsel of Jethro to Moses in the wilderness contained this statement: "Moreover thou shall provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: and let them judge the people at all seasons." (Exodus 18:21,22) Hatred of covetousness is an important qualification for leadership in God's work. The following divine woe is pronounced upon the covetous: "Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand. And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage." (Micah 2:1,2)
No student of the New Testament can claim that the tenth commandment came to an end at the cross or has been supplanted by grace. "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth," is the message of Christ, enforced by a parable. (Luke 12:13-23) Paul wrote, "Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9,10) This is almost a complete summary of the law. In this text the covetous are placed in the midst of the worst of sinners and criminals.
In 1 Thessalonians 2:5 is a warning against wearing "a cloak of covetousness." Such a cloak is usually called keen business foresight and ability to get ahead by outwitting and outmaneuvering others, but God calls it hypocrisy. After making the statement, "Beware you of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy," Jesus emphasized His meaning by saying, "Take heed, and beware of covetousness." (Luke 12:1,15) The cloak of hypocrisy worn by the Pharisees was really a "cloak of covetousness."
The height of the Christian standard is set forth in the following texts: "But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints." "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." (Ephesians 5:3; Hebrews 13:5) There is a great deal of covetous conversation even among professed Christians. Great care should be exercised in speaking of our desires for what others possess lest it lead to covetousness.
Insatiable Desire
Covetousness is never satisfied. The passion of covetousness grows till it completely possesses a man and corrupts his character. "Send us gold, for we Spaniards have a disease which can only be cured by gold," is the reported message of Cortez to Montezuma, the ruler of Mexico. The spirit of covetousness is set forth in Ecclesiastes 5:10-13: "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this also is vanity. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt." (See also Psalms 49:6-20)
To satisfy a covetous man with gold and property would be like trying to satisfy a fire with fuel. The more wood you feed the flames, the more greedily the fire burns, and the more a covetous person obtains, the more fiercely burns the flaming passion of avarice. Covetousness is ever eating and never full; it is ever lusting and never satisfied; it is ever getting and never giving. The poet Rossetti states it thus:
"Oh, what is earth, that we should build
Our houses here, and seek concealed
Poor treasure, and add field to field,
And heap to heap, and store to store,
Still grasping more, and seeking more,
While, step by step, Death nears the door!"
Root of All Evil
The apostle Paul said: "The love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness." (1 Timothy 6:10,11) "A root of all kinds of evil," is the rendering in the Revised Version. This is equivalent to saying that covetousness is the root of all evil.
We have already found that covetousness leads to the transgression of all the commands of the decalogue.
In the Chinese language the word for covetousness is composed of three characters representing a woman between two trees. The covetousness of Eve in turning away from the tree of life to the forbidden fruit opened the door for the entrance of all the evils that have cursed this world under the reign of sin. Covetousness is the root cause of all crime. It is closely related to envy. In fact they are twin sisters. "Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?" is the question of the wise man. It has been said that desire is "action in the egg." D.L. Moody quotes the following statement:
"The covetous person is a thief in the shell. The thief is a covetous person out of the shell. Let a covetous person see something that he desires very much; let an opportunity of taking it be offered; how very soon he will break through the shell and come out in his true character as a thief."--Weighed and Wanting, P. 108.
The same can be said of all the other commands. The apostle Paul felt that he was living in harmony with the law till he beheld the tenth commandment under spiritual illumination, and then he considered himself a violator of the whole law and a slave to sin. (See Romans 7:7,14,24,25)
Scriptural Examples
The seriousness of the sin of coveting is illustrated by many examples in the Bible. Coveting the wisdom and experience of gods led Eve to steal the forbidden fruit and was the sin which brought all other sins in its train. Lot coveted the rich plains of Sodom, and when the city was destroyed he lost all his wealth and most of his family. Achan's covetousness made him a thief and resulted in his death and the defeat of all Israel. Here is his confession: "Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it." (Joshua 7:20,21)
Gehazi was ruined by covetousness which led to deceit and lying. From Naaman he got more than he asked for, including his leprosy. He also received what was far worse--the disfavor of the prophet and the frown of God. David coveted the wife of Uriah, and in order to get what he unlawfully desired he committed both adultery and murder, and brought an everlasting reproach upon his own name and the cause of God. Ahab coveted the vineyard of Naboth, and his evil desire ended in murder, in order to obtain what he wanted. Balaam's covetous spirit turned him into an enemy of God and His people. He sold his prophetic birthright for the promised wealth of Balak, and he died in his sins.
Covetousness was the sin of Ananias and Sapphira, who selfishly tried to retain part of their pledge, and lost everything in untimely deaths. It was the sin of Simon who coveted and sought to purchase what money cannot buy, and of Judas who committed the crime of all crimes for the paltry sum of thirty pieces of silver, or about sixteen dollars, the price of a slave. From the gates of Eden to our own day we can trace the slimy trail of the serpent of covetousness, and he was never more active than at the present time of abounding selfishness.
Lawful Covetousness
But there is a form of desire, or covetousness, that is not only lawful, but is positively enjoined in the Scriptures. There are certain things that the Lord wants us to desire earnestly to the extent that we seek with all our hearts to obtain them. After describing the gifts of the Spirit, Paul said, "But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way." (1 Corinthians 12:31) The "more excellent way" is set forth in the next chapter, and is coveting after the spirit of love, which is of more value than all the gifts combined and without which they are useless. Every Christian should be able to say,
"If it be sin to covet love,
I am the most offending soul alive."
It is also lawful to earnestly covet knowledge, and then seek diligently to obtain it. It is always right to desire to be and do our very best. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, is a divine approval on the right kind of covetousness. All depends on the objects desired and the right we have to possess them, or whether or not our neighbor desires us to possess what he has a right to convey for its equivalent in value. The right kind of coveting never deprives others of their possessions. Obtaining knowledge from others does not deplete their store, but rather increases and enriches the supply.
Those who seek the invisible and eternal things of character and spiritual values will be delivered from the sin of covetousness in its application to mere things. The covetousness of the psalmist was not sin when he said, "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple." (Psalms 27:4) We all need more of this kind of coveting.
Again the psalmist said: "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God." "My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God." (Psalms 42:1; 84:2) After naming the things that wicked men covet, Jesus summed up all lawful desires in the statement: "But seek you first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)
It is not difficult to distinguish between right and wrong kinds of coveting. The tenth commandment forbids the coveting of material possessions, because if obtained the owner is deprived of them. This is not true of intellectual and spiritual possessions. He who covets wisdom and knowledge or any of the gifts and fruits of the Spirit, and through effort obtains them, does not rob any other person of them. In fact lawful coveting enriches both the giver and receiver, whereas unlawful covetousness impoverishes them both--one in material possessions and the other in spiritual possessions.
The Spirit of Contentment
The opposite of the avaricious and covetous spirit, which nothing can satisfy, is godly contentment, which can be known only by genuine Christians. Paul warns against those who suppose "that gain is godliness," and then says: "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition." (1 Timothy 6:6-9)
Everything works together for the good of the godly who are content with whatever the Lord in His providence sends them. Paul also said, "I have learned, in whatever state I am, therewith to be content." (Philippians 4:11) The author of the Hebrews said, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." (Hebrews 13:5) Covetousness is the great enemy of contentment, because it fixes our attention on what we have not rather than on what we have. It makes its victims unhappy and discontented. It makes men and women miserable instead of peaceful and contented.
Dangerous Contentment
But there is a dangerous contentment that must be avoided. It is the contentment and self-satisfaction of the Laodiceans: "Unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the creation of God: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint your eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." (Revelation 3:14-18)
We must never be content with ourselves or our attainments in knowledge or spiritual experience. Such contentment always leads to spiritual stagnation and death. Paul was satisfied with his Master, and he found contentment in his work. He was also contented with his temporal blessings. But godly contentment never places a premium on indolence. It does not destroy lawful ambition and aggressiveness. It does not produce a listless, lazy attitude that makes no effort to improve conditions. It increases one's desire for more knowledge, deeper piety, and a richer spiritual experience. The more one obtains in spiritual experience and blessings, the more he desires. While that which is obtained is wonderfully satisfying, the cry of the heart is:
"More about Jesus I would know,
More of His grace to others show;
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love who died for me!'
Godly contentment comes only to those who do their very best and then believe that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) Only those who love their neighbors as themselves and who practice the golden rule can obey the tenth commandment. No one ever covets the possessions of talents or the acquirements of those he really loves. A real mother does not covet the beauty of her daughter, or a father the education and talents of his son. How true it is that "he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." Therefore "let us love one another: for love is of God." Covetousness feeds on selfishness. It cannot exist where love rules and abounds. "Love is the fulfilling of the law."?