Tenth Commandment: Be Content

“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.”
Exodus 20:17

Advertisements try to get you to break this commandment.  Their whole purpose is make you want something that you don’t need.  “You deserve to enjoy our product.”  “Our product tells people you’re rich and successful.”  “Women will fight over you if you use our product.”

You want a house in a certain neighborhood because successful people live in that area.  You want a car because the woman in a bikini who stood beside it was HOT!  You want to buy clothes at a certain expensive store because people in fashion use that store.   All these things are examples of coveting, which are caused by the advertisement companies.

Even without advertisements we do a good job of coveting.  Just seeing something a friend has bought causes us to envy having it ourselves.  Our neighbor’s new car sets our mind into thinking how nice it would be to have a new car ourselves.  It doesn’t seem like something big to want something we don’t have, but actually, it is a case of not trusting God.

First off, let's remember that Christians do not own anything.  We have the honor to be caretakers for the things God has put into our possession.  We are not our own, and neither are our possessions.  The possessions we have are to be used for His honor and glory, not for ours.

When we covet something, we are saying that we want to own something for ourselves.  We don’t trust God to take care of us, and so we want to have something that will glorify us, make us happy, or make us feel fulfilled.

Our glory is not found in this world.  When we see Jesus face to face, He will shower us with His glory.  Happiness in this world is fleeting, but when we reach Heaven, we will have joy forever.  Fulfillment in this world is temporary, but serving God is eternally fulfilling.

We need to covet only one thing, knowing God.  Desire to love and serve Him with all your heart.  Everything else is garbage.  Be content with what God has placed into your care and use it for His glory.

Photo Credit: The Collection 02 by VOD cars

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