Covet…..We don’t use that word. Maybe you use it, but it’s not in my vocabulary normally. I do know it’s one of those ‘thou shalt not’ things…
Chamad=covet in the original language. In the verb form, which is the acting out of this thing called chamad, it means to desire passionately or intensely, to take delight in something delectable. It expresses the idea of finding pleasure in something.
So why is it a ‘thou shalt not’ ? Is our God just mean and nasty and intends for us to not enjoy anything?
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, nor thy neighbor’s wife, not his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.”(Ex. 20:17) ‘Don’t set your heart on anything that is your neighbor’s.’(Ex.20:17 The Message)
You see, it’s not that we should not find pleasure….we’re just not to find it in the wrong places. Having the great house is ok…as long as we are not taking what we want from someone else. Are we sure the desire for the great house is not out of a wrong heart motive?
And who is a neighbor? Looking for a loophole? Jesus addressed that very thing in Luke 10. My conclusion is that my neighbor is anyone within the realm of my existence and opportunity of influence. Wherever the ripple effect of my decisions go…whoever it touches… that is my neighbor. I am not to undermine any other person in order to further the desires of my own heart.
This ‘thou shalt not’ has to do with our wanting and even planning to have what is someone else’s, and even getting it by whatever method necessary, at their expense. An extreme example is David’s coveting the wife of another man, and what David was capable of doing to have her. The story is told in 1 Samuel 11.
‘..David said ‘ put Uriah in the front line where the fighting in the fiercest, then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.’ (vs.15 NIV)
Whew…I’d surely not do anything that awful would you? ….Then the Lord answered my prayer about revealing to me the sin in my own heart so that I might truly repent and turn away from it, asking Him to forgive and remove the guilt. He did. It is ugly. I am so thankful that He will remove the ugliness and grow me up in the process.
You’ll have to examine your own heart prayerfully in His Presence. If you know His love, you’ll feel safe doing that. It’s not a pleasant thing to look on purpose at the ugliness within yourself. But I believe it is necessary for spiritual growth. God knows every detail of it anyway…it’s us that refuse to acknowledge the presence of it within us, we are the ones who hide our eyes and pretend it’s not there. We pretend that it will not be noticed, or will somehow go away and never effect our lives. Wrong. So wrong…
