“Not a good idea!” Our four-year-old granddaughter hollered breathlessly as her grandpa Ben was spinning her around at top speed on a piece of playground equipment. Her hair was standing straight out behind her, and she was hanging on for dear life! She was warning her grandpa to stop. The phrases, “not a good idea,” and, “you shall not,” have similar connotations. The implications are—stop, or don’t do it. In Exodus 20:17 we see a similar warning. The command, "You shall not covet your neighbor's house, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor." God spells out a clear command and a warning to us here.

God’s commands are given for our protection. He knows our sinful hearts. The phrase, “you shall not” is mentioned fourteen times in Exodus 20. Have you noticed God repeats Himself frequently in scripture? That’s because we need constant reminders of what to do and what not to do. The Ten Commandments are an anchor for our lives. They hold us steady if we will heed them. They are timeless. You might say, “I get that we shouldn’t covet our neighbor's house or wife, but we don’t own slaves, oxen, or donkeys in this age.” The qualifier of this verse is, “Or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” That pretty much covers everything and anything. That includes coveting your neighbor's snow blower!

To covet means to long, lust, or yearn for. Do you see the emotions involved in coveting? They are played out through jealousy, greed, and lust. Our sin starts in our hearts and minds long before they are lived out in our actions and behaviors. It’s a sobering fact that God knows our thoughts. Hebrews 4:12 says, ”For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Psalms 139:4 says, “Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold O Lord, You know it.”

God knows that we are clever at disguising, downplaying, and justifying our sins. After all, we rationalize that it can’t hurt to just think about desiring our neighbor's house, wife, servants, and animals. No harm done—right? Wrong! When we start playing around in our minds and daydreaming about the possibilities, we are going down a dangerous path. The farther down we go, the harder it is to pull back. God takes all sin seriously, it’s not something we just entertain in our minds and think, “no harm done.” The enemy knows our weaknesses and will use them to bring us down.

What’s at the root of coveting? Pride. There it is, that ugly word that’s the root of all our sin. In pride, we want and desire to have what’s not ours, regardless of the consequences. Down deep we know it’s not a good idea, and we shouldn’t do it, but the temptation is pulling and spinning us downward. So what do we do when we are tempted to covet?

First, recognize it for what it is: sin. Don’t dismiss it or let it roll around in your hearts and minds. Nip it in the bud, so to speak.

Second, run to God’s Word quickly. Renew your mind with the purity and truth of the scriptures.

Third, turn away. That may sound simplistic, but turning away involves changing direction on purpose and doing so intentionally.

Fourth, pray, memorize, and meditate on the word. God’s word in us will help protect our hearts and minds.

Fifth, cultivate a heart of contentment and gratefulness.

It’s interesting that many of the commandments involve sinning against others.
Romans 13:9-10, “For this, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

If we are to love our neighbor truly, we won’t desire what they have. Real love is sacrificial, selfless, other-centered, and unconditional. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to love that way? If we are hedged in by the extravagant love of Christ, we won’t get caught in the spinning downward pull of coveting and greed. Now let that take your breath away!