You shall not covet your neighbor's wife also means not reduce the person from subject to subject. Today it is not, but common listings of the Ten Commandments fail to take this into account.Of all the commandments, the Tenth Commandment has a tendency to be the most contentious.
There is no prohibition against coveting another’s “husband,” which suggests that the commandment was directed only at men. An argument for the former could perhaps be made, but it would be far more difficult to defend the latter. Among the Hebrews as well as other cultures of the Near East, slavery was accepted and normal. When we consider Temperance we find ourselves once again considering the role of reason in our actions, and the necessity to embrace the mean between the extremes of harmful self-denial and the immoderate self-gratification that can prove equally harmful.Explore our collection of features, newsletters and other materialsTo be modest means to be a subject, an individual willing to live under a law higher than our own wants and needs. I was foolish enough to not know…that no one can be continent unless you grant it. Our complete surrender to God is an essential element of our chastity (continence). The inclusion of women alongside material possessions suggests that women were considered little more than property, an impression that is borne out by the rest of Hebrew scriptures.Is desire for what others have wrong because that leads to attempts to steal the possessions of others, or is it rather than such desire is wrong in and of itself? Buy a high quality print of the Ten Commandments with Mount Sinai as the backdrop. This sin can also occur within marriage when one spouse wants the other only as a means to satisfy his lust.
To be pure “in heart” is to be pure in every important aspect of our being, and God promises a blessing to the pure in heart precisely because they seek to be faithful in all ways.The Rosary Confraternity is a spiritual association of the Catholic Church, the members of which strive to pray the entire Rosary during the course of one week.At first glance this might seem a recipe for a very dull life, but we must remember that the purpose of virtue is to make us good and to make our actions good. While moderation regarding food or drink is certainly a part of the virtue of Temperance, it is far from the only part we must consider if we are to understand this virtue.In his Confessions, St. Augustine admitsThe faithful must believe the articles of the Creed “so that by believing they may obey God, by obeying they may live well, by living well may purify their hearts, and with pure hearts may understand what they believe.”In other words, our surrender to God’s will is the means by which we are able to choose whatever is best for us at any moment. The true riches are not found in this world but will come in the kingdom when Christ returns. True riches are found only in a relationship with Jesus Christ (Phil 4:19). We are to store up treasures in heaven and not here on earth (Matt 6:18-21). If you have repented, confessed your sins and trusted in Christ, then you are as rich as God the Father because we will share in the inheritance of God when we are brought into the kingdom. If you are not born again then this is your best life right now and it will never be any better and in fact be far worse at your death or at Christ’s return (Rev 20:16-20). I strongly urge you to make today your day of salvation (2 Cor 6:2) for He could return at any given moment…today or tonight…and then your chance to be saved is over. Covet only the things of God and the prayers of the saints for coveting anything else is sin and God will judge those who are lawbreakers and it will be with an everlasting judgment (Matt 22:33).This man’s first mistake was by asking “what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” There is nothing that any of us can do except to repent and trust in Christ and only by this confession can we have eternal life but it is never by doing anything but it is by what Jesus has done on the cross at Calvary. This man believed that he was a good person by keeping the Law but actually he was coveting his wealth because when Jesus tested him by saying, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven the young man heard this [and] went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” He was actually coveting his wealth and making it his god and we are to not have any other gods before us (Ex 20:3). No one can have two masters for he will either love the one and hate the other and no one can serve both God and man (Luke 16:13).What does it mean to covet? What does the Bible define as coveting?Church and ministry leadership resources to better equip, train and provide ideas for today's church and ministry leaders, like you.Get updates from Christian Crier delivered straight to your inbox
When the bible says "thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife" it is not merely pointing at the men, it is for EVERYONE to know it is a sin to commit adultery. Embracing the Ninth Commandment is a challenge to embrace a “counter-culture,” one in which neither the individual nor the human body reigns supreme.For the Apostle (St. Paul) it is not a matter of despising and condemning the body which with the spiritual soul constitutes man’s nature and personal subjectivity. On the other hand, we have sentimentalized the heart and localized it as the site of our emotional life.Neither of these views is wrong, but each is incomplete. Jesus warns against all covetousness, as something that destroys a person from the inside.More succinctly, "Thou shall not covet," is the 10th commandment.