Commandment Ten: Be Content

But the Bible says this is not true. . . for Ecclesiastes 5:10 says “whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.”

And Proverbs 27:20 says Our eyes are never satisfied just as death and the grave are never satisfied.

So how can we kill covetousness and discontentment?

The tenth commandment will tell us tonight that we can kill covetousness by trusting in the grace that God has shown us in Christ. . . and by being satisfied in Jesus, we will not covet, but instead be content.

What Does the Commandment Mean?

The negative side of the tenth commandment is not to covet your neighbor or any of their possessions.

The positive side is that we should be content.

Let’s unpack the negative side of what we should not do, then we will look at the positive side of what we should do.

Negative Side: You Shall Not Covet

To “covet” means to strongly desire, wish, long for, or crave something to a fault where it consumes you.

“Lust” can also be used synonymously with the word covet.

Other words that can be used synonymously with coveting are envy, jealousy, and greed.

The Hebrew word does not always communicate an evil desire, for it is used generally as a good desire for God’s word in Psalm 19. . . however, when the object desired is off limits or wrongly oriented, it is evil.

God commanded the Israelites not to desire their neighbor nor any of their possessions because they were not theirs to posses.

This includes their wife, their house, their animals, their servants, etc.

Unlike the other commandments, this commandment skips over outward actions and goes straight to the heart

Covetousness is an inward desire of the heart and the mind. The tenth commandment is the only commandment that specifically condemns inward thoughts and desires as opposed to outward actions.

Philip Ryken says “The tenth commandment makes explicit what the other commandments only imply-namely, that God requires inward as well as outward obedience. . . the tenth commandment proves that God judges the heart.”

We could even say that each one of the previous commandments (6-9) take place and come about through coveting and envy.

Essentially, every other sinful act we commit stems from a coveting desire in our hearts (James 1:14-15).

“Michael Horton tells of the rabbi who said to him, “You know, one of the greatest differences between our two religions is this idea that you’ve committed a sin just by desiring or thinking it. We believe you have to actually commit the physical act before it’s really sin. Otherwise, we’d be sinning all the time!”

The Rabbi was right. . . the tenth commandment shows that none of us can hide before the Lord. . . for not only do our outward actions have to be perfect. . . but also our inward thoughts, desires, and motives.

Paul discovered this truth in Romans 7 where he said that before he heard the law “you shall not covet,” he thought he was righteous in his outward deeds. Yet, when he heard this command, he knew his inward thoughts and desires were not pure and he realized he was condemned before a holy God.

The Dangers of Jealousy

Throughout the Bible, God warns us of the dangers and damaging affects the sin of envy can have. . .

Proverbs 27:3–4 ESV

A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both. Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?

Prov. 14:30 says, “Envy makes the bones rot.”

This means that envy will eat you from the inside out. Envy will transform a person into a monster.

Gal. 5:16-21 says that those who are envious will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Rom. 1:28-29 says that envy is a result of a debased mind that has turned away from God and worships idols.

1 Cor. 13:4 says that envy is the opposite and counterfeit of genuine love.

Look at what the sin of envy leads to in some of the Biblical narratives:

Cain envies Abel and it leads to murder (Gen. 4:3-5).

Esau envies Jacob and it leads to strife (Gen. 27:45).

Joseph’s brothers envy Joseph and it leads to slander, prison, and division (Gen. 37:4).

Jesus was crucified because of envy (Matt. 27:18).

James 3:14-16 says that every evil practice comes from envy and selfish ambition. . . he also says that envy comes from demonic and earthly wisdom.

What Does the NT say about Covetousness and Envy?

In Luke 12:15, Jesus taught to guard your heart against all covetousness, for our lives do not consist in the abundance of our possessions.

Essentially Jesus is teaching that we cannot take our possessions with us when we die, so why would we covet and be envious of other people’s things?

Covetousness is called idolatry in Colossians 3:5 and should not even be named among us in Ephesians 5:3.

James 4:1-2 teaches that covetousness is what causes strife, fights, and quarrels among us and others.

Now, for us. . . we may not covet other people’s oxen or servants but. . .

We can covet other people’s successes and joys when we cannot celebrate with our friends when they. . .

get that grade we wanted. . .

win the prize we desired. . .

or go on the vacation we would dream of going on,

The command to not covet other people’s possessions also applies to not coveting their. . . attributes, age, looks, knowledge, or talents. . .

It means not to covet another person’s situation in life, their marriage, spiritual maturity, or anything else they possess.

Social media is probably one of the biggest temptations we have to covet others that can easily cause us to be discontent and unsatisfied with our lives today.

We see a person’s new car and we wish it was ours.

We see a person’s accomplishments and we wish they were ours.

We see a person’s relationship and we wish we were in one.

We see the way we someone looks and the attention they are getting and wish we had their body. . . and the list goes on and on.

As we said at the beginning, our eyes will never be satisfied with the things of this world. . . but to keep us from coveting we must obey the positive side of the commandment, which is to Be content in Christ.

Positive Side: Be Content in Christ.

Jeremiah Burroughs defines contentment as “the inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, freely submitting to and taking pleasure in God’s gifts in every condition.”

We should be content with what we have (Heb. 13:5).

godliness with contentment is great gain. . . if we have food and clothing, we should be content (1 Timothy 6:6-10).

Through Christ, we can been content in all circumstances (Philippians 4:10-13).

Because Christ is our good shepherd, we should not want anything else (Psalm 23:1).

Contentment is directly connected with being satisfied in Jesus. If we love Christ and long for him, we will be satisfied and content and not want anything else. . . for in Christ, we have everything we need.

In Jesus We Have Everything We Need!

We struggle with contentment because our desires are not too strong for other things, but rather they are too weak and easily satisfied.

C.S. Lewis said in The Weight of Glory, “If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with alcohol and immorality and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

We are settling for the the temporary things of this world. . . that will never satisfy us. . . for the eternal riches and glories of a vibrant relationships with Jesus!

Philippians 4:19 ESV

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Did you hear that?? God will supply all of our needs according to the riches of the glory of Jesus.

Romans 8:32 ESV

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

If God did not withhold his only son, how will he not also with him freely give us all things that we need?

If we seek Christ first and his righteousness, God will provide everything we need (Matt. 6:33).

“It is not poverty or wealth that leads us to contentment and trust in the Lord, but the confidence that if God provided so richly for our salvation by choosing, redeeming, calling, adopting, and justifying us, and by sending His Spirit to cause us to grow up into Christ’s likeness, then surely we can count on Him for the less essential matters of daily existence.” -Michael Horton

It really boils down to separating what we want from what we need. . .

So what is our greatest need. . . our greatest need is salvation from our sin and to be brought back into a right relationship with God.

God has provided this through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Therefore, if God has provided for our greatest need through Christ, we can be content and satisfied in him. . . because we truly have all that we need.

Yet, we will not see this as our greatest need if we don’t understand the wickedness of our sin and our desperate need for the grace of Jesus Christ.

This is why Jeremiah Burroughs said that if we want to grow in contentment, we should add burdens, not subtract them.

The more we understand our sin and how lost we are, the more we will see how good, loving, merciful, and gracious the Lord is in providing salvation for us through Christ.

Just as the woman who was living in sin continually wiped the feet of Jesus with her tears when he entered the house. . . she loved Jesus so much more than the pharisees because she knew she had been forgiven of her many sins.

So what about you?

Do you see and understand your greatest need?

Do you see how far you have fallen short of God’s glory. . . not just in your outward actions, but also in your inward thoughts, motives, and desires?

In his confessions, Augustine said, “For you have formed us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.”

We will be constantly discontent and unsatisfied if we are looking for joy and happiness in other things. . . but if we look to Jesus for our salvation, joy, and satisfaction, we will be content and filled in him.

Do you want to be satisfied? Do you want to be content? Do you want to be filled with joy, no matter what circumstances you go through? Trust in Christ today, and be satisfied in the bread of heaven for eternity!

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