17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.
When we covet, we desire what someone else has, and the desire gets in the way of an open relationship with them. It is not simply the admiration of what our neighbor has. It goes beyond admiration to wanting for ourselves. The list of things we can covet is not confined to their house. It includes everything they own, everything in their sphere of influence. It even includes their family, or their spouse. Maybe even their smooth skin! When we covet we are in essence saying that we are not satisfied with God’s provision in our life. We are really complaining about what God has done by allowing them to have. Do we really want to be in a position of complaining about God’s provision? Would we not be better served with gratitude! Of course coveting often leads to further ills. Our relationship with our neighbor can get strained because our covetousness gets in the way. We can’t enjoy being with them because our hearts are jealous and wanting what they have. And that ends up showing through in our words and actions. We end up poisoning the relationship. It can be very hard when our life is lived on the edge to not covet. If we are being faithful, not spending beyond our means, and we still don’t have, it can be hard to rejoice in the blessings in another’s life. How much more difficult not to envy when we live beyond our means and see the lack of struggle in another’s life. We must learn to live within our means. We must learn that purchasing something does not fill the void in our souls, that things don’t make up for shallow relationships, or that our deepest hunger is for a full relationship with the Lord and no substitute will work.
The Arnold Journey 