Contentment is the antidote to coveting. It is a state of heart and mind where we rest in God’s provision and plan for our lives. It acknowledges that God, in His infinite wisdom and love, has given us exactly what we need and that we require nothing more. 

17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” – Exodus 20:17

The Evil of Coveting

Coveting is a vile sin that festers in our hearts, often hidden yet ever-destructive. It is a cancer that eats away at our souls, leading us down a path of ruin, misery, and despair. For instance, consider the many ways we transgress this command.

When you see your neighbor’s truck, with four-wheel drive, a towing package, and sitting on an 8-inch lift kit, you feel sorrow that you cannot afford what you have coveted. When you look across the street at your neighbor’s home and feel envious that his house has more room than yours, a better layout, or bigger bedrooms, then you have coveted. When you look at how supportive a friend’s wife appears to be, or how handy so and so’s husband is, or how much Joey Bag of Donuts makes at his job, or how many children Sally Homemaker has, or because of the fear of missing out you bolster your record and your accomplishments to fit in with the Joneses, whenever you look with longing upon who someone is or what they posses, while at the same time looking with resentment upon who you are and what you have, then you have coveted. When you see the wealth, blessings, clothing, power, success, or status of others, and it makes you green with envy, bitter about yourself, or frustrated toward them, then you have plunged into the world of coveting and have sinned against your God.

In this way, coveting is not a harmless thought that you harbor quietly in the deepest, murkiest recesses of your mind; it is poison and cancer to the soul, and you must not entertain it for a moment.

Consider the many forms of coveting that plague our daily lives. You see a colleague receive a promotion and feel resentment and jealousy, wishing it were you instead. You hear of a friend’s vacation and feel a pang of envy, thinking, why can’t we afford those trips? You scroll through social media, coveting the curated lives of others, their perfect families, and their endless joy, and you feel the sting of pain knowing your life does not look like that; all of this is coveting.

It is important to remember that coveting is a gateway sin that leads to further sin. It breeds dissatisfaction with what you have, bitterness, and anger at God, who is sovereign over all things.

Read More