2. The sneakiness of COVETING

You might have felt pretty good about sneaky sin #1, but what about this next one where we WANT something, even desiring what others have (and we don’t)?

That’s what the God highlighted as #10 in the Ten Commandments as the sin of “covetousness”:

“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.”– Exodus 20:17

Here, God makes clear that we should not be desiring anything that belongs to anyone else.

Today, however, we are bombarded with advertisements and promotions all working to awaken a desire in us: You need this (product/service/etc) to gain happiness! But here is the truth-in-marketing about these messages:

It is the lie of the deceiver to awaken your desire so that you get these products or services that you do not need and maybe cannot even afford, just to gain a benefit or a status that does not last.

And, it’s true… everywhere we look, advertisers are trying to awaken this covetous desire in us: your neighbors or your favorite personalities already have this, you want it too!

But check what Jesus teaches:

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” – Luke 12:15, ESV

These words of Jesus are key: life is not about the abundance of possessions. The one who has the most toys or the best things does NOT win. That is a lie from the deceiver and his marketing allies.

Call out the sin of covetousness in your life today and rejoice in the freedom that Jesus alone can give.

We’ll have a closer look at how in a later reading…