Commandment #10 Do Not Covet
The 10th Commandment— Do Not Covet, Exodus 20:17
The primary goal of advertising is to make us want what we don’t have. The average American sees an estimated 4,000 to 10,000 ads each day. (Adfuel article)
- Coveting: What It Is
- “Coveting is an unquenchable desire for more regardless of what we have to do to someone else to get it.” (John McCallum)
- Coveting focuses on what we do not have; not on how we are blessed.
- Coveting: Why It’s Wrong
- Most other commandments deal with only our actions; this commandment links our attitudes with our actions.
- “They covet fields and grab them, find homes and take them. They bully the neighbor and his family, see people only for what they can get out of them.” (Micah 2:2, The Message)
III. Coveting: What It Causes
- “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24 NLT) Jesus said you can’t be fully committed to both God and stuff.
- Coveting makes us jealous of others. It makes people try to keep up with the Joneses without ever considering that the Joneses may not be happy.