Need to Know – The Tenth Commandment

Need to Know

Exodus 20:17

“You shall not covet…”

So coveting is unlawful desire, that is, desire that wants to go beyond the holy, righteous, and good boundaries marked out by the Law of God. Coveting wants to steer us off the sound path of righteousness into the marshes and miasmas of self-indulgence and self-gratification.

But, unless we understand that such things are wrong, what’s to keep us from pursuing a merely hedonistic way of life, rather than one of self-denial and service to our neighbors? After all, aren’t plenty of people you know living like this anyway? They don’t seem troubled by covetousness. Whatever they want, they go for it, and let the chips fall where they may.

People are driven, or led, by desire, that is, by what their hearts incline to. This is natural; what’s not natural is to desire things that God proscribes. That, indeed, is coveting. And that is what God forbids.

Why do you suppose God forbids coveting? Why would it be so wrong to indulge a merely selfish thought or desire? Who’s gonna know anyway?

Daily meditation in the Law of God helps us along the path of holiness, righteousness, and goodness (Rom. 7:12). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compilation of the Mosaic Law for contemporary believers, by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.