Stop Coveting & Give Thanks, Part 2: Tenth Commandment

Stop Coveting, Start Giving Thanks

Last week I wrote about the 10th Commandment and how it is now culturally acceptable to break this Word, especially within a marriage. Today I wanted to give you some things to do in the place of coveting, and provide a clear path for getting out of the muck of sin.

Satan hates it when we repent. He HATES it when the children of God stand up and declare a heart for righteousness and a desire to obey the Word in every possible way.

Let’s disturb the kingdom of darkness and lay claim to the Body of Light! Let deeds of darkness fall away, and let’s turn on the Lights!

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” ~ Exodus 20: 17

It is so easy nowadays, especially with the advent of social media, to be exposed to a million different ideas of “living” and to covet something that you want but don’t have.

The thing is, God does not want us to do that. It reveals a lack of contentment in our hearts, and a jealous nature of envy and desire that removes any ability for us to love, and receive love.

Have you ever given someone a gift only to have them ridicule and criticize the gift that you’ve given? They take it, roll it around in their hands, and point out all the broken pieces, little areas that they dislike, the color choice not being quite “right” for what they like, and otherwise just simply disregard your heart in giving the gift. This is the problem at the heart of coveting.

When we covet, we are criticizing God for the life that He has purposed for us and the people who He has placed in it.

Scripture tells us that marriage is a sacred thing, but it is also an area where He has purposed for each of us to send up sparks while we become refined and sharpened through the daily interactions of life. Marriage is not easy! It was never supposed to be, because relationships are not easy.

However, the concept is simple: give thanks in all things, practice self-control in thought and in speech, show love the way you want to be shown love, and boast in the goodness of Yahweh at all times.

Give THANKS!

There are about 85 million different things for which we can give thanks when we open our eyes to see them! If you do not have open eyes to see how much blessing your life has, humble yourself and pray to our Abba for eyes that can see clearly. Pray for the veil of deception to be removed from your eyes.

Give thanks for your marriage and for the blessing of the challenges that it contains, for it grows you and provides an opportunity for maturity in the Spirit and sanctification of the soul.

Give thanks for your family and children, and for the struggles of taking responsibility for others. In this way we come to understand God as our Father in a way that we cannot possibly imagine until we experience when it means to be a parent.

Give thanks for the various possessions that you have, whether few or many, and realize that not one thing could have been attained in and of yourself, but that it is all on loan from the Kingdom of Heaven. God is the owner of it all, and as the owner, you are the manager of these items and responsible for using them to spread His love to others. Possessions are not meant to simply be hoarded for personal satisfaction. What can you do to spread your blessing to others?

But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be childrenof the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” ~ Luke 6: 27-36

Practice Self-Control

It takes much intention and focus to take control of our thoughts and make them captive to Christ, but the fruit of this single task is so multi-faceted and productive that it cannot be overstated. Yes, there are plenty of things that you do not have, that I do not have, that every single person in this entire world does not have…but we were never supposed to have everything of the world.

This concept comes from Satan, because it is rooted in the misunderstanding that “if God truly loved me, He would only give me things that I believe to be good.” The lie that is here is that God defines what is good, not our hearts, and that it is only through studying and practicing what is taught in God’s Word that we will train our hearts to love that which God loves. In this way we can experience the fulfillment of our desires, because our desires will align with His desires. We will be of one accord with Him.

We, as Children of the Most High God, must always have a heart that declares:

Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.” ~Psalm 139: 23-24