You Shall Not Covet

 

Shared Values of the Old and New Testaments

The Universal Lawmaker (11) 

The Ten Commandments

10th Commandment

One of the most damaging things you can have in your heart is an envious desire for what another person owns.  You can take inspiration from others or learn from their mistakes, but when you harbor unhealthy and inordinate desires for what another has, you are coveting.  Your standard is what God has for you.  You will have more or less of certain things than others and vice versa.  That is how God made things to be. Unrestrained coveting leads to theft and other criminal acts.  If you obsess about what someone you know has, such as their car, house, spouse or bank account, stop and bring the Holy Spirit in to heal. God can heal you and give you new good attributes as well.

Exodus 20:17 (KJV) 17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.
Galatians 5:22-23 (TLB) 22 But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control; and here there is no conflict with Jewish laws.

11/8/2026