The tenth commandment "You shall not covet" is a matter of the heart. To live in thankfulness to God for all He has done and is doing and to trust in Him for provision and fulfillment is to follow the tenth commandment, which forbids covetousness.
The 10th Commandment
The 10th Commandment is mentioned twice in Scriptures. The first time in Exodus 20:17 when Moses ascended Mount Sinai to meet with God: "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
The second mention of the 10th Commandment is in Deuteronomy 5 when Moses reminds the Israelites of the laws as they prepare to enter the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 5:21 - "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
While in Biblical times, the matters of the heart and coveting dealt with neighbor's wife and animals, today coveting often means neighbor's houses, cars, and vacations.
What Does Coveting Mean?
To covet means to have an intense desire for something that belongs to someone else.
Coveting is not just about wanting something; it implies a deep, often unhealthy desire that can lead to resentment, jealousy, and actions that may harm oneself or others.
Covetousness goes beyond a simple desire for a good thing. It reveals a deeply rooted issue of idolatry (Eph. 5:5). Scripture warns us that coveting has caused some to walk away from their faith altogether (1 Tim. 6:10). The insatiable desire that one feels toward someone else’s house, spouse, wealth, or possessions, unveils distinct areas of discontentment. It reveals where they are putting their hope for blessing, for “the good life.”
When people begin to believe that what they desire will provide joy and fulfillment, they deny God’s power to provide and satisfy. They will do anything to get the object of their desire. This often leads to behaviors opposing God’s good and loving law.
It also keeps people from loving others well: instead of seeing their neighbor as a beloved child of God, they view them with jealousy and, often, disdain. Once people covet others’ possessions, they judge their worthiness versus another’s, leading them to believe they deserve more. This line of thinking opposes the way of love that Christ laid out for us when He gave up His very life so that we might live.
Is the Tenth Commandment Different in Some Denominations?
We might assume there is only one way of ordering the Ten Commandments. After all, the version of the Ten Commandments found in public buildings is usually the same.
The typical rendering of the Ten Commandments is from Exodus 20 and combines every prohibition against coveting into one commandment. Many high church traditions (specifically, the Catholic, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox churches) use a version of the Ten Commandments that Augustine of Hippo proposed in the fourth century. It splits the tenth commandment into two separate commandments.
Consequently, “you shall not covet your neighbor’s goods” is the tenth commandment in many Catholic Bibles. This version condenses all that God commanded His people not to covet into a more general prohibition of coveting.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” is the exact rendering of the tenth commandment that is found in Exodus 20, and which is used by most Protestant traditions. For this article, we will be referring to this version of the tenth commandment.
How Does Christ Help Us Follow the Tenth Commandment?
With every negative command, “Do not steal, do not murder, do not lie,” there is a positive portrayal of how one is meant to live righteously as a follower of Yahweh. The tenth commandment is no exception.
The word “righteous” gets thrown around a lot in Christian circles, but often without effect because we don’t use it much in everyday speech. What does it mean that we became “the righteousness of God” in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21)? To be righteous is to be in right standing with others. It is a relational term. Thus, living a purely righteous life means always acting according to what is proper for a relationship.
Before salvation, and apart from Christ, we had a very different idea of living. Coveting comes easy when we act as our own gods and live “in the lusts of our flesh” (Eph. 2:3). When we live for the world, when worldly things offer us the happiness we know, and when it is everyone for themselves, craving another’s possessions makes sense.
The cross changes these things. If we have a Father in Heaven who sent His very Son to die so we may live, a Father who promised to provide all we need with the same lavish love and benevolence displayed on the Cross, then “righteous living” is something else. We seek utter gratitude before God, contentment in what He has provided, joy in our humble circumstances, and love for our neighbors.
Grace changes thing. When we find our life in knowing Christ, and “not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions” (Luke 12:15), it makes no sense to covet.
How Do We Follow the Tenth Commandment Every Day?
The covetous person puts their hope in the world, doing whatever is necessary to obtain their desire. The person who puts their trust in God does whatever is necessary to obtain more of Him. To see His face more clearly, to witness His power at work in their life, and to know Him as an ever-present friend. Matthew 5:8 says that the pure in heart will see God.
Purity requires humility. Covetousness stems from pride. It hinders one’s ability to live righteously, for it is rooted in a mental hierarchy where the self is put above the neighbor who is meant to be loved. Instead of viewing others through the lens of love, jealousy reigns. “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing” (James 3:16). Not purity of heart, but “every evil thing.”
Covetousness keeps one from seeing God. It steals one’s joy and instills discontentment, a yearning that will never be satisfied (Hab. 2:5). It creates disorder in one’s priorities and relationships.
There is a better way. Thankfulness, the proper response to Christ’s work on the cross, is ultimately the best armor against the temptation to covet. Instead of dwelling on what is “not fair,” we consider how unfair it is that Christ died on a cross for us. As Candice Lacy reminds us, the cross was necessary for salvation. However, that doesn’t mean it was fair; it was a sacrifice we did not deserve.
Consider how unfair it is that through his death, you may live. Give Him thanks. Actively thank Him in your prayer time when you’re beginning to feel jealous and when your mind wanders to the things you are tempted to make into idols. Thank Him for the trial and the blessing, for all is grace when God uses everything for good for one who loves Him (Rom. 8:28).
Thankfulness is the only right response to what He has done for you and is the first line of defense against covetousness.
James 4 clues us in on what to do next. After James chastises believers about their covetous desires, he says, “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, so that you may spend what you request on your pleasures” (James 2:3-4). The statement provides both an invitation to ask God for our every need and a revelation of the heart of someone who asks but does not receive. Search your heart in prayer and see if your desires are rooted in selfishness and idolatry. If so, repent and turn to Christ, who promises to provide all you need. Often, when we do this, we will discover a hole of dissatisfaction in our lives.
We have bought into the lie that we will be fulfilled if we just grasp a material thing. We must uproot those lies before we can be free from covetousness. We don’t find satisfaction in worldly things but in God’s things. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6). Then, if we find we still have a need, a genuine need, we can lay it before our Father in Heaven who loves us and will provide what we need.
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Learn More about the 10 Commandments with these helpful articles that dive deeper into understanding each commandment and what they mean for us today.
What Does the Second Commandment in the Bible Really Mean?
Understanding the Third Commandment: Do Not Use the Lord's Name in Vain
Understanding the Fourth Commandment: Remember the Sabbath Day
Understanding the Fifth Commandment: Honor Your Father and Mother
What is the Sixth Commandment in the Bible?
What is the Seventh Commandment in the Bible?
Understanding the Eighth Commandment: You Shall Not Steal
Understanding the 10th Commandment: You Shall Not Covet
