Disciplining Desire – The Tenth Commandment

Disciplining Desire

Discipline your desires and you will defeat covetousness.

Read Exodus 20:17

“You shall not covet…”

We who know the Lord Jesus Christ are able to control what we desire. Or, at least, we’re responsible for doing so. It is our duty to discipline our hearts so that covetousness can find no fertile soil there in which to take root. How do we do this? First, know when desire has begun to kick in: what are the signs that you’re starting to think about something or long for it more than before? Second, develop the practice of assessing your desires before the Lord in prayer. Ask Him point-blank: “Lord, is this in line with Your Law, or does this carry me into sin?” Listen for Him to respond and guide you. Then, third, begin to develop your heart to love the Lord and His Law. The more we long to please God and to walk the path He has prescribed, the less hold covetousness will have on our lives.

How might you begin to discipline your affections more consistently, and more effectively? Do you think this will help you to love the Lord and His Law?

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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.