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What Does It Really Mean to Follow the Tenth Commandment?

Do we still have to follow the tenth commandment today? If so, how do we do it?

Contributing Writer
Updated Mar 11, 2024
What Does It Really Mean to Follow the Tenth Commandment?

As with all commandments, following the tenth commandment is a matter of the heart. To live in thankfulness to God for all He has done and is doing and to trust in Him for provision and fulfillment is to follow the tenth commandment, which forbids covetousness.

Is the Tenth Commandment Different in Some Denominations?

We might assume there is only one way of ordering the Ten Commandments. After all, the version of the Ten Commandments found in public buildings is usually the same.

The typical rendering of the Ten Commandments is from Exodus 20 and combines every prohibition against coveting into one commandment. Many high church traditions (specifically, the Catholic, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox churches) use a version of the Ten Commandments that Augustine of Hippo proposed in the fourth century. It splits the tenth commandment into two separate commandments.

Consequently, “you shall not covet your neighbor’s goods” is the tenth commandment in many Catholic Bibles. This version condenses all that God commanded His people not to covet into a more general prohibition of coveting.

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” is the exact rendering of the tenth commandment that is found in Exodus 20, and which is used by most Protestant traditions. For this article, we will be referring to this version of the tenth commandment.

What Does It Mean to Covet Something?

To covet a thing is to earnestly and inordinately desire without regard for it or its owner. Covetousness goes beyond a simple desire for a good thing. It reveals a deeply rooted issue of idolatry (Eph. 5:5). Scripture warns us that coveting has caused some to walk away from their faith altogether (1 Tim. 6:10). The insatiable desire that one feels toward someone else’s house, spouse, wealth, or possessions, unveils distinct areas of discontentment. It reveals where they are putting their hope for blessing, for “the good life.”

When people begin to believe that what they desire will provide joy and fulfillment, they deny God’s power to provide and satisfy. They will do anything to get the object of their desire. This often leads to behaviors opposing God’s good and loving law.

It also keeps people from loving others well: instead of seeing their neighbor as a beloved child of God, they view them with jealousy and, often, disdain. Once people covet others’ possessions, they judge their worthiness versus another’s, leading them to believe they deserve more. This line of thinking opposes the way of love that Christ laid out for us when He gave up His very life so that we might live.

How Does Christ Help Us Follow the Tenth Commandment?

With every negative command, “Do not steal, do not murder, do not lie,” there is a positive portrayal of how one is meant to live righteously as a follower of Yahweh. The tenth commandment is no exception.

The word “righteous” gets thrown around a lot in Christian circles, but often without effect because we don’t use it much in everyday speech. What does it mean that we became “the righteousness of God” in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21)? To be righteous is to be in right standing with others. It is a relational term. Thus, living a purely righteous life means always acting according to what is proper for a relationship.

Before salvation, and apart from Christ, we had a very different idea of living. Coveting comes easy when we act as our own gods and live “in the lusts of our flesh” (Eph. 2:3). When we live for the world, when worldly things offer us the happiness we know, and when it is everyone for themselves, craving another’s possessions makes sense.

The cross changes these things. If we have a Father in Heaven who sent His very Son to die so we may live, a Father who promised to provide all we need with the same lavish love and benevolence displayed on the Cross, then “righteous living” is something else. We seek utter gratitude before God, contentment in what He has provided, joy in our humble circumstances, and love for our neighbors. Jack Graham summarizes how this new life should be visible to others in an anecdote about non-Christians discussing what it means to live for God:

“Several years ago, some West Point cadets were sitting in their dorm room discussing all kinds of issues. It was one of those late night sessions where they were talking about anything and everything.

So the subject of Christianity came up and they asked the question, ‘What is a Christian?’ And as they began to bat around the idea a bit, one after another gave his opinion on what a Christian is.

After a few hours of not really getting anywhere, one young cadet stopped the conversation dead when he said, ‘A Christian is Charles Jones.’ Now, Charles Jones was a fellow cadet who was known for his kindness and willingness to go the extra mile for others because of his faith in Christ.

I wonder how that conversation would go if your friends were having a discussion over coffee and asked, ‘What is a Christian?’ Would anybody mention your name? Are you so identified with Jesus Christ that people know who you are and what you believe?

Being a Christian is more than just lip service. It’s living your life in such a way that others see a difference in you. So as you go throughout your life, let others see God’s grace and love in you!”

(Taken from “Letting God’s Light Shine Through You” by Power Point Ministries. Used by permission).

Grace changes thing. When we find our life in knowing Christ, and “not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions” (Luke 12:15), it makes no sense to covet.

How Do We Follow the Tenth Commandment Every Day?

The covetous person puts their hope in the world, doing whatever is necessary to obtain their desire. The person who puts their trust in God does whatever is necessary to obtain more of Him. To see His face more clearly, to witness His power at work in their life, and to know Him as an ever-present friend. Matthew 5:8 says that the pure in heart will see God.

Purity requires humility. Covetousness stems from pride. It hinders one’s ability to live righteously, for it is rooted in a mental hierarchy where the self is put above the neighbor who is meant to be loved. Instead of viewing others through the lens of love, jealousy reigns. “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing” (James 3:16). Not purity of heart, but “every evil thing.” Covetousness keeps one from seeing God. It steals one’s joy and instills discontentment, a yearning that will never be satisfied (Hab. 2:5). It creates disorder in one’s priorities and relationships.

There is a better way. Thankfulness, the proper response to Christ’s work on the cross, is ultimately the best armor against the temptation to covet. Instead of dwelling on what is “not fair,” we consider how unfair it is that Christ died on a cross for us. As Candice Lacy reminds us, the cross was necessary for salvation. However, that doesn’t mean it was fair; it was a sacrifice we did not deserve. Consider how unfair it is that through his death, you may live. Give Him thanks. Actively thank Him in your prayer time when you’re beginning to feel jealous and when your mind wanders to the things you are tempted to make into idols. Thank Him for the trial and the blessing, for all is grace when God uses everything for good for one who loves Him (Rom. 8:28). Thankfulness is the only right response to what He has done for you and is the first line of defense against covetousness.

James 4 clues us in on what to do next. After James chastises believers about their covetous desires, he says, “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, so that you may spend what you request on your pleasures” (James 2:3-4). The statement provides both an invitation to ask God for our every need and a revelation of the heart of someone who asks but does not receive. Search your heart in prayer and see if your desires are rooted in selfishness and idolatry. If so, repent and turn to Christ, who promises to provide all you need. Often, when we do this, we will discover a hole of dissatisfaction in our lives. We have bought into the lie that we will be fulfilled if we just grasp a material thing. We must uproot those lies before we can be free from covetousness. We don’t find satisfaction in worldly things but in God’s things. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6). Then, if we find we still have a need, a genuine need, we can lay it before our Father in Heaven who loves us and will provide what we need.

How Does Fasting from Things Help Us Follow the Tench Commandment?

One of the most practical methods to avoid coveting is to monitor our social media (and, more generally, internet) usage. We all know its dangers and how easily it gives us reasons to covert by comparison.

Of course, the temptation to compare lives exists within all of us, and it appears in many ways. An interesting study found that people, especially those living in large homes, were satisfied with their houses’ size until bigger homes began construction nearby. Still, the constant reminder that it “could be better” became harder to avoid as we became more virtually connected. Before social media, we usually only compared ourselves to people in our social circles. Now, the whole world shows off their spacious homes, electronics, and never-ending supply of expensive clothes. Our vision of what is necessary for “the good life” becomes shaped by whatever we see online (not just what people show but the ads accompanying it).

Photo Credit:©GettyImages/ yuriz

Meghan TrappMeghan Trapp earned her Masters of Arts in Applied Theology from Heartland School in Ministry in Kansas City in 2021, and is now joyfully staying home to raise her daughter. When she is not reading children’s books or having tea parties, Meghan is volunteering with a local anti-trafficking organization, riding bikes with her family, writing or reading (most likely Amy Carmichael or C.S. Lewis). Her deepest passion is to share the heart of Christ with teenagers and young adults.


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