Different Life: 9th & 10th Commandmentsናሙና

Who do you want? It’s not just what we want, but who we want that drives us.

You might see a person. They seem delightful. Even intoxicating. You find yourself dreaming about them. You start to think you’d be happier with them. You want them. Bad. So the commandment warns, “Do not covet your neighbor’s wife” (or husband, which is certainly implied). Jesus calls this lusting after someone in your heart (Matthew 5:27).

Coveting is not always related to sexual lust. You might see a worker and think, “If only that person worked for me.” So the commandment tells us not to covet our neighbor’s servant. In today’s language, perhaps it’s better to say “employee.” You want someone else to be your friend. You wish that kid was your son or daughter. You’d rather have that other person as your pastor. You can apply it to coaches or players or any number of other people that capture your attention. Many times wanting to connect with people is fine. But it’s not fine when you “rob them” from someone else. Equally bad is when they become the chief object of your desire.

It’s easy to make someone else your chief delight. But God wants to be your first delight. When we make someone else our chief desire, we make them an idol. And that leads to all kinds of bad things. But when we delight in God, everything else comes into line. And more often than not, we better appreciate the good people God has given us.

God wants you. He wants you to want him above all people and all things. The 10 Commandments call him a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). That seems counter-intuitive to this command. But jealousy is wanting what rightfully belongs to you. And you belong to him. No other god can have you. Envy, on the other hand, is wanting someone that doesn’t rightfully belong to you. So don’t envy another. Want him.

Anything less distorts the fabric of the universe by seeking to elevate another god to his place. This last command is like the first. Don’t put anything else before God. Let God be the chief desire of your heart.