Marsha's Musings: Thou Shalt Not Covet

This past Sunday we listened to a sermon by Alister Begg on the 10th commandment. I never thought of this before, but he said the commandments on killing, stealing, adultery and lying all have to do with actions. But the commandment on coveting has to do with the heart attitude that lies behind the actions.

He brought us to the passage where Jesus says.

Luke 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

How often do we look at the catalogues, go window shopping, look at what someone else has, and say to ourselves, "I really want that. I'd like to have one just like that." How often do we want something so badly that we are willing to go out and put it on credit when we don't really have the money to buy it? How often do we tell someone how lovely that dress looks on them while saying in our hearts, "Boy, I wish I had one like that!" Or if you are a guy, you comment on some one's car while thinking, "I wish it was mine!"

I look around my house and all the possessions we have and wonder how we got into such a mess of clutter. Could it be covetousness? Did we really need all this stuff? No! So why do we have it? Is it making my life easier? NO! It's making my life more difficult because I don't have places for it all and it makes it hard to clean around it. So why do I have it? It's time to pass it on to someone who needs it and wants it. But, in getting rid of it, I need to be careful to not bring more in to replace it.