Passage: Exodus 20:17

The Big Idea

The tenth command is the heart of all ten. Coveting happens entirely in the heart, and it leads to adultery, theft, lying and more. Satan uses it to distract us, convincing us we can’t be happy without something we don’t have, so we’ll look away from the only One who can make us happy. The cure isn’t trying harder not to want. It’s Jesus’ promise: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” When He is our treasure, everything else loses its shine.

What Is Coveting? (Exodus 20:17)

God commanded: don’t covet your neighbor’s house, his wife, his servants, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

To covet is to crave, to long with intense desire for something that belongs to someone else.

This command deals entirely with the heart. You break it in the heart first, and then actions follow.

Covet your neighbor’s spouse, and it can lead to adultery.
Covet your neighbor’s things, and it can lead to stealing.
Covet your neighbor’s life or personality, and you’ll start pretending to be someone you’re not.

Coveting is a heart disease that leads to all kinds of other sin complications.

Have you ever thought:

God, why can’t I have what they have?
Why does my life look like this, when theirs looks so much better?
Do You love them more than me?
Did I do something that made me miss out on blessings?

Left to rattle around in our heads, those thoughts turn into resentment.

Coveting is deadly. Comparing our lives and blessings with someone else’s is poison to our spiritual life.

Stolen Poison

Bob James once told a story about putting out ant poison. He spread a ring of poison granules around a mound of stinging ants. The ants took the granules for food and carried them into the colony. When he came back, he noticed a gap in the circle: some of the poison was moving the other way. A different kind of ant had found the “food” and was stealing it from its neighbors. Thinking they were taking the other ants’ treasure, they were carrying poison home.

When we see someone with more than we have, watch out. The hunger to beg, borrow or steal our way into what’s theirs can poison us spiritually.

The Sneakiest Sin

Coveting is the sneakiest sin. It hides so deep in our hearts.

Jeremiah says the heart is more deceitful than anything else and desperately sick; who can really understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9).

So how do I know if I’m coveting?

There’s a movie, Inception, about agents who plant ideas in someone’s mind through their dreams, so deeply that the person believes the idea was his own.

Satan uses coveting the same way. He plants an idea in our hearts: that we need something, or want something we don’t have.

And the whole purpose of that planted idea is distraction.

It’s so easy to get distracted. Have you ever found yourself less passionate and focused than you once were? The things of God seemed distant and vague?

How did the enemy pull that off?

Coveting. Distracting our hearts by telling us we aren’t happy, that we need something else in order to be happy.

“I Would Be Happy If…”

How do you know if you’re coveting? Ask: Am I looking for something to make me happy? “I’d be happy if I had ______.”

A spouse
A car
A job
A house
Health
Ministry
A bigger ministry
Talent
Kids
No kids

What do we really need to be happy? Jesus.

Hebrews tells us to keep our lives free from the love of money and be content with what we have, because God Himself has promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

Satan knows only Jesus will make you happy.
So he plants a thought that distracts you from Jesus.
He keeps you from happiness by telling you that you need happiness.
He can’t destroy a child of God, so all he can do is distract you.
He can’t steal your joy, but he can convince you to ignore its Source.

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

That’s the cure for coveting.
The law, the Old Covenant, demands that we never covet.
Jesus promises that through His presence in our lives we are set free from it.
That’s the New Covenant, God’s new promise.
Jesus brings freedom from sin’s power and replaces sin with the blessings of joy and peace.
All He asks is humility and faith: surrender, abiding in Him, staying near Him rather than running away.

When Coveting Becomes a Way of Life (Ephesians 5:5)

What if we refuse to believe this New Covenant of grace and keep walking in coveting, seeking happiness in other things, rejecting Jesus’ claim to be all we need?

Paul says you can be sure that no sexually immoral, impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:5).

This is serious.
Notice that coveting is linked with idolatry: valuing something above God.
That’s what we do when we covet. We devalue Jesus and His ability to be all we need, and we worship something that isn’t God.
How can we be confident we’re God’s children if our lives place no value on Jesus?
If a life is marked by continual coveting, never happy in Jesus, there’s reason to question whether it truly knows Him:
Never rejoicing in God’s promises; always doubting what He says.
Never thankful for His love; always demanding a sign like money or blessing.
Never wanting to hear His Word; always fine on their own.
Never a moment of true worship; always bored with God and excited about everything else.

What do I do if I see that in myself?

It’s simple. Repent and believe the gospel. Turn away from everything you thought would make you happy, turn to Jesus and believe the good news of His love.

You’re saved by that faith.
You may stumble in a thousand ways, but you’ll keep turning back to Jesus and agreeing with Him.
That’s why following Jesus is so wonderful. He’s such a forgiving, gracious Master, full of love and compassion.
That’s why we gladly become His servants by choice. Serving Him is a joy. There’s no greater joy.
Enjoy Him more. Enjoy Him more than everything else in your life.
Don’t get distracted by anything in this world. Focus on Jesus.

How? (Luke 12:13-34)

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus said, “Who appointed Me judge between you?” Then He said, “Watch out, and be on guard against covetousness, for a person’s life doesn’t consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Then He told the parable of the rich man whose land produced so much that he decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones, and then tell himself, “Relax, eat, drink and be merry.” But God said, “You fool! Tonight your life is demanded of you. Then who will get what you’ve stored up?” That’s how it is with anyone who stores up treasure for himself but isn’t rich toward God.

Giving in to distraction is foolish.
All those things won’t matter: your job, your parties, your comfort, your friends, your games.
They don’t last. They’ll pass to someone else the moment you’re gone.

Then Jesus told His disciples not to worry about food or clothing. Life is more than food. Consider the ravens: God feeds them, and you’re worth far more. Who can add an hour to his life by worrying? Consider the lilies: not even Solomon was dressed like them. If God clothes the grass, how much more will He clothe you, you of little faith? Don’t keep seeking what you’ll eat and drink, and don’t be anxious. The nations chase all these things, and your Father knows you need them. “Instead, seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Don’t be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.” Give generously and store up treasure in heaven that won’t fail. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.“

Jesus says that when we’re worried, anxious and focused on anything but Him and His kingdom, we’re acting foolishly. Everything we worry about either doesn’t matter, or has already been promised to us. But when we set our hearts on those things, we miss out on them.

God is rich. He lacks nothing. In His presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). He’s rich and joyful. And the key to our being blessed and joyful is right there: seek His kingdom, and where your treasure is, your heart will be.

Keep a single eye on Jesus.
A sharp focus on the Son of God.
An undivided mind meditating on His Word.
Jesus isn’t part of our life. He is our life (Colossians 3:4).
Complete surrender to His plan, will, calling and kingdom.

Why does He want such complete abandonment?

So He can bless us.
He needs an empty cup to pour life into.
It’s His good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
He asks us to look away even from good things, so He can replace them with what is perfect.

How Will It Feel?

When your focus, attention and heart are on Jesus alone, He takes responsibility for how your life turns out. His reputation is on the line. His name is at stake.

He has declared that everyone who seeks Him and trusts Him alone will never be put to shame (Romans 10:11), and will be blessed with peace, joy and every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

He offers life to the heart. He’s the source of that life, the only source. When our eyes are on Him, everything we used to covet will look rusty, dull and pointless.

Grace Takeaway

Coveting whispers that you’d be happy if only you had what someone else has. It’s a distraction designed to pull your eyes off the only One who can satisfy you. Jesus is the treasure. He has promised never to leave you or forsake you, and it’s the Father’s pleasure to give you the kingdom. Believe the gospel every day, let it be the reason you live, and you’ll find a treasure that brings peace, joy and value to your heart every single day.

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The Tenth Command: Don’t Covet