Just as the fifth commandment is transitional between love of God and love of others, this tenth commandment is transitional between outer and inner obedience—in essence, between Moses and Jesus. For the other commandments in this group have been about behavior, while this commandment is about the heart. We’ve already seen how Jesus made this connection in the Sermon on the Mount. God looks inside us, so that even if we don’t steal, we can displease Him by our own displeasure with what He has given us.

Coveting is really more than wanting; it’s a form of lust, which is allowing the heart to fantasize about taking hold of something we’re not meant to have.

Notice that this commandment offers seven examples of coveted objects: a neighbor’s house, his wife, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or any other possessions. Clearly the intent is to paint with a broad brush, to show that anything imaginable can seduce our attention away from God.

The Bible is filled with stories of lives broken by coveting. So is history, for that matter. Jesus sized up the rich young ruler and got right to the point with him: “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15).

It comes down to this: Jesus came to give us an abundant life. Isn’t that enough? We find contentment, as He told that young man, not in the abundance of things but in the fullness of God’s goodness. “Godliness with contentment is great gain,” Paul wrote to Timothy (1 Timothy 6:6). But it is the last chapter of the book of Hebrews that gives us the clearest reason for the command against coveting: “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’ ” (13:5).

The secret to not coveting is to be content with the presence and provision of the Lord. As C. S. Lewis said, “He who has God and everything else has no more than he who has God only.”17 God looks at us and says, “Am I not enough for you? Would you spend your life in the pursuit of trinkets and baubles, when you are heirs to the kingdom of God? The things your heart pursues are like stale crumbs compared to the feast I’ve prepared for you. Coveting is one more path that leads to destruction, so I’m asking you to seek contentment in Me.”

Laws of Love

Mystery writer Dorothy Sayers was a follower of Christ. She observed that there are two kinds of laws: the law of the stop sign and the law of the fire.